African Development Bank and Economic Reparations

The **African Development Bank** be financial organisation wey dey support projects wey go push economic den social development for Africa top. People dey call am Banque Africaine de Développement too.

## Background
The African Development Bank (AfDB) start for 1964 insyd wey dem give am mandate say make e promote better economic development wey go last long, plus help reduce poverty for Africa. Dem dey do dis one by mobilize money den share am give member countries make dem take invest for important projects.. The AfDB ein headquaters dey Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. E dey work as regional multilateral development finance institution, wey dey partner mostly plus African governments den private sector people.

Even though dem no originally create AfDB to solve historical injustices, ein mission now dey connect more and more to de talks about economic reparations, especially when e come to Africa ein colonial past, de transatlantic slave trade, plus de way dem take use exploitative financial systems do Africa bad. Reparations matter talks don hot pass for de whole continent, as African leaders, civil society groups, plus regional institutions like African Union all dey shout say make dem bring reparative justice. Dis one go fit happen through financial support systems, cancel debts, plus give better development aid.

Even though AfDB no talk say reparations be part of ein official goals, some scholars den policymakers see de way e dey do things like helping with debt relief programs, infrastructure support, plus development partnerships as something wey dey support de bigger reparations agenda wey dey grow.

## Reparations Discourse in Africa
For de last decades insyd, reparations talk for Africa don rise again. Dis one dey happen as people dey call make dem face de economic, cultural, plus human suffer wey come from transatlantic slave trade, colonial rule, and de global economic inequality wey still dey go on. Na African governments, pan-African institutions, scholars, plus civil society movements all dey lead dis call.

For 2023 insyd, Ghana ein old Presido Nana Akufo-Addo talk publicly say make dem pay reparations. He talk say even though no amount of money fit truly pay for all de slavery den colonial suffer wey Africa go through for centuries, de call for reparative justice still be valid plus important.
Same way, de **[[African Union]] (AU)** too always dey support international talks on reparations. Dem don call plenty times say make concrete steps dey wey go fit deal plus de economic wahala wey colonialism den racial discrimination lef behind.

For Africa side, reparations no be only say make dem pay money straight. E fit mean debt cancellation, development aid, capacity building, plus institution reform too. Some think tanks plus advocacy groups dey talk say international financial institutions for take put historical injustices inside how dem dey plan economic matters den how dem dey share money.

Some people wey dey criticize dem dey see dis reparations talk as just political symbol. But others dey argue say reparations, especially through economic development mechanisms, be important if we really want make long-term fairness happen and also fix de power imbalance wey history cause.

## AfDB’s Position and Involvement
Even though African Development Bank (AfDB) never take reparations as official mandate, ein leaders don start dey talk more about things wey concern reparative justice plus economic redress. For 2023, AfDB Presido Dr. Akinwumi Adesina talk publicly say former colonial powers for take more financial responsibility. He talk dis one for Global Parliamentary Summit on Reparations wey happen for Accra, Ghana. Adesina talk say reparations no be only to say sorry, e for include economic restitution too. He call make strong partnerships dey, so say dem go fit help solve de historical den structural inequalities wey African countries still dey face.

Adesina argue say debt restructuring, concessional financing, plus more investment for infrastructure den education fit work like modern ways of doing economic reparations. Dis position dey match plus de Bank ein bigger efforts to promote inclusive growth and make Africa no dey depend only on extractive economic models.

AfDB too don join some initiatives wey dey support reparative development in-directly, like African Debt Action Plan, Africa Infrastructure Development Fund, plus investment for renewable energy and agriculture wey dey help build Africa ein own capacity. Even though dem no call these programs reparations, some scholars den policy advocates dey talk say dem be steps to correct de historical imbalance wey dey inside global economic relations.

But still, AfDB dey work inside multilateral development finance system, wey mean say both African and non-African shareholders dey provide funds. Some of these shareholders get different views about reparations. Dis kind setup fit make am hard for de Bank to fully support reparations as official policy objective..

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