Ghana will fully finance the construction of a monument at Seville Heritage Park in St. Ann to honour African solidarity and shared history, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has announced.
The monument project will be undertaken through collaboration between Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence and Jamaican local authorities, Minister Ablakwa said during a welcome reception and guided tour of the Seville Great House on Sunday, January 25. The event formed part of an official visit to Jamaica by a Ghanaian delegation.
Describing the Seville Great House as a site of deep historical and spiritual meaning, Ablakwa reflected on its past as a place of immense suffering for enslaved Africans, and its present-day symbolism as a space reclaimed by their descendants.
“Some centuries ago we would not have been allowed anywhere near these walls, but today we have returned as owners of this building, as owners of this land, and as the truthful and rightful custodians of every possession here,” he said.
The Ghanaian foreign minister characterised the visit as more than a diplomatic engagement, calling it a profound moment of spiritual reconnection between Africa and its diaspora. He praised Jamaica’s efforts to preserve African history and honour ancestral memory, singling out the repatriation and dignified burial of an enslaved African woman whose remains were returned to Ghana.
“You brought back one of our own… and made sure she returned and has been buried,” Ablakwa said.
Several dignitaries were in attendance for the reception and participated in the tour of the Seville Great House, underscoring the growing cultural and historical ties between Jamaica and Ghana.
