The 80th anniversary commemoration of the Fifth Pan-African Congress entered a defining moment on Wednesday as Kwesi Pratt Jr, veteran journalist and member of the Pan-African Progressive Front (PPF) organising committee, delivered a forceful appeal for continental unity, institutional power, and a renewed struggle for reparations.

Speaking to African scholars, activists and leaders gathered in Accra, he said the gathering represented continuity with a long resistance tradition. “Before the continent, they proclaimed the liberation of Africa to the liberation of all humankind,” he said. Yet decades later, “the only change remains.”

Pratt argued that foreign control had merely evolved rather than disappeared. “The foreign domination has merely changed its uniformity,” he said, pointing to ongoing debt, resource extraction and structural adjustment. “Anytime we engage them, our politicians can force more than 30 African nations to cut social spending, privatise industries, and open markets to foreign goods.”

To counter this, Pratt urged the building of strong Pan-African institutions capable of confronting global power. “Let us now create a Continental Tribunal and empower people to prepare bigger claims against the colonial powers supported by Continental Reparations Fund,” he told the conference.

Reparations dominated the discussions again on Wednesday. Participants reaffirmed their demand for historical justice through a legal institution for the assessment of damages, a single African reparations fund, and customs duties on imports from former colonisers. Delegates insisted that the pursuit of reparations must be unified, declaring that Africa stands together because the former colonizers must pay for their crimes.

The conference, organised by the Accra-based Pan-African Progressive Front, also explored new models of Pan-African power on the sidelines. The Coordinating Committee met with Monsieur Emile Parfait of SIMB to consider the creation of a unified Pan-African media holding, aimed at ending Africa’s dependence on foreign communication giants.

The Libyan Foreign Minister revealed that Benghazi is being considered as host of the next PPF forum, signalling the movement’s growing continental reach. Former President John Dramani Mahama also announced plans for a visa-free zone among seven African countries.

Pratt called for a unified African voice in global affairs. “We assemble in Accra as delegates of the Pan-African Congress and representatives of Pan-African movements and progressive parties,” he said. He urged institutional cooperation with the African Union and global partners for an international solidarity mechanism.

He also reminded Africa of its resilience. “Those who survived built the modern world,” he said of enslaved Africans. Today, he added, the mission is to “restore the dignity of African knowledge, and restore the light of humanity.”