Columnist questions Gonsalves's fitness for reparations role

A St. Vincent and the Grenadines columnist has raised concerns about Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves's suitability for a role on Ghana's Global Advisory Council on Reparatory Justice, citing statements he made about colonialism and slavery more than two decades ago.

Marlon Bute drew on an Anansi folktale to frame his argument, urging Ghana's government and other leaders of the reparations movement to scrutinise those they appoint to represent the cause. He called for close examination of whether appointees genuinely believe in reparations or have embraced the cause for political reasons.

Bute focused on remarks Gonsalves made on October 27, 2004, during St. Vincent and the Grenadines' Independence celebrations. At that event, Gonsalves acknowledged the genocide of indigenous peoples and the enslavement of Africans but then characterised colonial rulers as not "intrinsically evil." Instead, Gonsalves attributed their actions to "expansionist mercantile capitalism and economic imperialism."

Bute argued this framing shifted responsibility away from individuals who made decisions to enslave and profit from slavery. "Mercantilism did not hold the whip by itself," he wrote. "People made decisions, passed laws, owned human beings, and defended a system from which they benefited."

Bute also questioned Gonsalves's use of the word "we" when speaking on behalf of descendants of the enslaved, particularly given Gonsalves's Portuguese heritage. He noted that in the same 2004 address, Gonsalves credited colonialism with positive legacies including the English language, public institutions, and democratic systems, statements Bute said diminished the harm of slavery and colonialism.

The columnist called on Gonsalves to clarify whether he still holds those views, and if not, to retract them and apologise for using his office and a national occasion to speak that way on behalf of enslaved people's descendants.

Bute also referenced other statements attributed to Gonsalves over the years, including remarks about Portuguese people and money, and a comment comparing a potential successor to Jesus, observations Bute interpreted as appeals to voters based on ethnicity and complexion.

Bute concluded by arguing that the reparations movement is best served by an Afrocentric approach that centres Africa and African people in their own history, and by listening seriously to descendants of the enslaved.