By Joyce Danso, GNA
Accra, Oct. 21, GNA – Dr Dominic A. Ayine, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Tuesday urged lawyers to take an active stand against political corruption and its negative impact on foreign investments.
He said lawyers must also advise clients against offering bribes to secure investment deals and ensure that political leaders were held accountable when they engaged in such acts.
“We must fight against political corruption and its corrosive effects on foreign investment. As public sector lawyers, we must advise the political class against receiving bribes from foreign investors and prosecute those who ignore this advice,” Dr Ayine said.
“As lawyers, you are custodians of the law, defenders of justice, and advocates for Africa.”
Dr Ayine made the call at the opening of the 2025 Annual African Bar Association Conference in Accra on Monday, on the theme: “Foreign Interest in Africa: Exploitation or Investment?”
He said the theme touched the very core of Africa’s collective future, reviving key questions about the continent’s political economy and the role of foreign capital in shaping its destiny.
Touching on Africa’s wealth and opportunities, Dr Ayine observed that the continent stood “at a historic crossroads,” blessed with abundant natural resources and resilient citizens, yet burdened by a legacy of exploitation.
“For centuries, foreign interests have played a decisive role in Africa’s story. Too often, our blessings have been converted into burdens – not through the fault of our people, but through systems that perpetuate unequal relations,” he said.
Dr Ayine noted that while investment in sectors such as natural resources could naturally involve some exploitation, the real question was whether foreign capital operated with “vampire tendencies,”extracting more value than it created.
He stressed that issues of foreign interest must be examined through the lenses of law, economic justice, and national policy, not emotion.
“We must balance the need to attract foreign capital with the imperative to protect national interests,” he added.
The Attorney-General cited examples of Africa’s history of disadvantageous investment agreements; contracts that siphoned resources, tax holidays that weakened national treasuries, and stabilisation clauses that constrained fiscal flexibility.
“This is not investment,” he cautioned. “It is a sophisticated form of economic extraction, cloaked in legality, endorsed in contracts, and enforced through international arbitration.”
However, Dr Ayine emphasised that not all foreign interests were exploitative. Africa, he said, needed genuine investment – capital that built factories, created jobs, transferred technology, and strengthened communities.
“Our task is not to reject foreign investment, but to redefine the terms of engagement. Investment must be mutually beneficial, respect sovereign equality, and contribute to value addition in Africa,” he said.
He urged members of the African Bar Association to act as architects of Africa’s legal destiny, using law as a tool of liberation rather than dependency.
The Attorney-General called for stronger negotiation capacities within African states, credible continental arbitration institutions, and harmonised investment laws under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to ensure Africa speaks with one voice.
“The world is entering a new scramble for Africa, this time for lithium, cobalt, green minerals, and data. If we do not act strategically, history will repeat itself, not with chains and ships, but with contracts and clauses,” he warned.
He called for a new doctrine of ‘strategic Africanism’- a vision rooted in partnership, mutual respect, and the rule of law.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe