AN ACADEMIC EXCHANGE BETWEEN JCW AHIAKPOR AND F GERITS

We do not see very often one of our articles sparking a debate in the pages of our journal. However, we welcome this occurrence. In this case, Frank Gerits’ article in the latest issue of the Southern Journal for Contemporary History1 - which analyses the economic history of Ghana vis-à-vis the economic and political thought of important Ghanaian economists - has provoked a critical response from one of the intellectuals cited by Gerits himself: JCW Ahiakpor. The Professor Emeritus has decided to send a short article to our journal to correct what he deems the “incorrect and misleading claims” made by Gerits in his article. We welcome this academic exchange as it highlights and unveils crucial themes for the political and economic history of the Global South, one of the core objectives of our journal. In the following pages, we publish Ahiakpor’s short article, followed by Gerits’ rebuttal. We wished to have involved another Ghanaian intellectual cited by both scholars: Dr Kwesi Botchwey. However, his recent passing prevented us from doing so. We still welcome further comments (possibly in the form of articles) by scholars who wish to participate in this debate.