President John Dramani Mahama has called on development banks, international financial institutions and private-sector partners to invest in Africa’s cultural infrastructure, saying the return of artefacts could support economic development as well as restore lost heritage.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, Mahama said investment was needed in regional archives, conservation laboratories, digitisation and professional training to help African countries preserve and showcase cultural assets.
“Heritage itself is an engine of development,” he said, pointing to its potential to support education, international tourism and the creative economy.
Mahama’s appeal comes as Ghana pushes for the return of cultural objects held abroad. He thanked the Netherlands for cataloguing 2,000 Ghanaian artefacts for return, while acknowledging Germany’s engagement with the Pando traditional area and France’s legislative frameworks on restitution.
But the President said the process should go beyond individual returns, calling for a permanent global system with clear legal and diplomatic mechanisms, transparent archives and fewer barriers to restitution.
He also rejected the argument that limited museum and conservation capacity in African countries should delay the return of artefacts. Ghana, he said, is advancing a state-of-the-art national and traditional institution to preserve, research and exhibit returned heritage.
“Where gaps in technology, digitization or conservation exist, the solution is simple. Invest in them through genuine multilateral partnerships,” Mahama said.
The call for investment formed part of Mahama’s presentation of the Accra Next Steps commitments on reparatory justice, which seek to move the restitution agenda from declarations towards practical action.
UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany also stressed the need for practical agreements and cooperation among governments, museums, researchers and heritage professionals. African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson Selma Malika Haddadi, meanwhile, called for stronger institutions and tangible progress in returning cultural property.
For the president, cultural heritage should not wait until after economic development to receive investment. Properly preserved and made accessible, he argued, it can be part of that development.
