Dirco wants greater push for reparations from former colonial nations

Parliamentarians have debated how South Africa can play a role in securing hundreds of trillions of dollars in reparations from Europe and the United States. A 2023 meeting of the African Union (AU) and Caribbean counterparts declared the need to ramp up pressure on former colonial and imperial powers to atone for past injustices. Despite billions in aid and investment having flowed into Africa via western nations, African leaders remain adamant that the historical bill remains unpaid.

Officials from the department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) were before the portfolio committee on Wednesday to discuss progress made on theAccra Proclamation on Reparations. The proclamation lays out a 15-point plan that uses existing legal and institutional frameworks to “restore dignity, heal historic wounds, reclaim cultural heritage and repay economic injustice”. Dirco’s presentation said the previous AU declarations stipulated that 2025 was a year for country-specific actions.

Dirco explained that South Africa’s contribution amounted to a public lecture delivered to the National Council of Provinces in May, a diaspora week at Freedom Park and representation on the AU’s regional framework for reparations. Additionally, Dirco highlighted two pieces of legislation that were well-received by AU human rights body. “South Africa’s delegation to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights elaborated on the Bela Act and the Land Expropriation Bill as two Acts which seek to redress the past,” Dirco’s presentation reads.

[paywall]

Dirco deputy minister Thandi Moraka said that apologies from the West were insufficient, as its involvement in Africa had left it deeply scarred. “We ought to now start to work towards making sure that we find those who were at the centre of driving these social ills in our people,” Moraka said. “Because when you speak of issues of reparations, it then requires that a premium ought to be paid to a particular community that is still struggling to deal with the effect of colonialism.

[/paywall]