Ghana News
‘I May Have Inherited the Power to Become a Jaguar’: Dutch Author Traces Family ‘Curse’ to Ghana’s Kormantse Village
Raoul de Jong was 28 years old when he received an email that would change his life. Written in capital letters, it read: “I’M SEARCHING FOR MY SON RAOUL DE JONG.” It was from his father—a man he had met only once before, when he was two years old.
They arranged to meet under the big clock at Amsterdam Central Station.
“I immediately recognized him. That was the weird thing. I could immediately see, oh, yeah, of course, there’s only one person on this planet that is my father,” Raoul recalls in a BBC podcast.
After that first meeting, they lost touch again. But when Raoul decided to travel to Suriname—a former Dutch colony in South America where his father was born—to research a book about his roots, his father reappeared and told him something that would send him on a seven-year journey across three continents.
His father, a devout Christian, warned him about a family curse. One of Raoul’s ancestors, brought as a slave from Africa to Suriname, had practiced Winti, an Afro-Surinamese traditional religion similar to voodoo or Candomblé, and could transform himself into a jaguar.
“But this is very bad,” his father said. “This is like a curse for the family.”
The Quest for the Jaguar Man
His father advised him to stay away from the curse. But Raoul, driven by curiosity, could not let it go. Who could this ‘jaguar man’ be? And what did his powers have to do with him?
“I wanted to find out what are those powers and why is my father so afraid of them. And what do they have to do with me?” Raoul explains in another podcast Dutch Studies University of Sheffield.
He knew very little about Suriname—“as much as the average Dutch person, which is almost nothing,” he admits. He went to the biggest bookstore in his city and asked for books about Suriname. They had just one, written by two Amsterdam students.
“I was like, ‘Ah, that’s not what I’m searching for. I want to know what is beautiful about Suriname,'” he says.
He searched for voices like Maya Angelou or James Baldwin, writers who looked like him or his father. The bookstore said they did not exist. But Raoul was stubborn. He eventually found a book from 1934, written by Anton de Kom, a black man from Suriname. He had to go to the library in Rotterdam every day for three days to read it because he had not paid his library fine.
“It was a really weird and magical experience to read that book,” he says.
De Kom’s book explained the history of Suriname and how deeply it was intertwined with the history of the Netherlands.
“For example, as I would find out later, the owner of my family, my enslaved ancestors, was the founder of the Dutch bank, the National Dutch bank,” Raoul reveals.
He realized that enslaved people were not allowed to learn to read or write.
“That was one of the ways they turned people into slaves, basically. So then at the beginning you might think, oh, so that means they did not use their voice. But then after a while, I understood that’s not true. They still spoke. They just had to learn to talk in a way that the master didn’t understand that they were talking,” he explains.
They did it through clothes—using color codes in fabrics to refer to African deities. They did it through music and rhythms that could call certain spirits.
“These rhythms, we still hear them every day. Those are the rhythms that we dance to when we let ourselves go in the discotheque. Or even in Justin Bieber’s songs, you can hear certain rhythms,” Raoul says.
The Kromanti Spirits and the Ghana Connection
As Raoul delved deeper, he discovered the Kromanti—the name for seven spirits that accompanied his African ancestors as they were brought to Suriname on slave ships. One of these spirits was a leopard, which, once in Suriname, took on the form of a jaguar.
“They called upon these spirits when they had to go through these terrible punishments on the slave plantations,” Raoul says.
His research eventually led him to Ghana. He visited a coastal village called Kormantse. Like the seven Kromanti spirits, the village had seven families, each represented by an animal.
Many people had been taken as slaves from this village. One of them was a powerful warrior whose symbol was a leopard. Was he Raoul’s ancestor? And had his name always been remembered as the spirit Kromanti?
Raoul believes this spirit guided him—first to Suriname, and then to Ghana.
“I think you know that as well as I do. It’s time to take stock, to put our cards on the table. All right, I will start. This is not a story about white or black, the Netherlands or Suriname, the old world or the new. And it’s not a story about my father, even though it involves all those things. This is a story about you, Jaguar Man,” he writes in his book.
The Curse That Was Not a Curse
For seven years, Raoul researched, travelled, and wrote. He filled 20 notebooks with notes and recorded countless hours of interviews. He spoke with spiritual leaders, visited archives, and travelled to the rainforest in Suriname and to Brazil, where the Dutch had also been present.
He realized that the “curse” was not what his father had believed.
“People were taught to be afraid of their own beauty, and their own powers,” he says.
The Kromanti spirits and the jaguar man were not something to fear. They were sources of strength that had helped enslaved people survive the horrors of the slave trade and plantation life. Raoul’s book, Jaguar Man (published in Dutch as Jaguarman in 2020), became a temple for these silenced voices.
A Father’s Gratitude
After the book was published, his father called him. He thanked Raoul—for not listening to him.
“After Raoul published his book, called Jaguarman, his father called and thanked him – for not listening to him,” a BBC report notes.
The book was published two months after the Black Lives Matter movement gained global momentum. “If it would have been published before, it would have not done the same thing. People were ready for this story to be told,” Raoul says.
Anton de Kom’s book, written in 1934, became a bestseller 86 years after it was written. The Dutch government made apologies to his family. Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologized in 2022, and King Willem-Alexander followed in 2023.
Jaguar Man Goes Global
Now, with the English translation of Jaguar Man, Raoul is reaching an international audience. He has connected with readers from Jamaica, the United States, and the Caribbean—people whose ancestors, like his, were part of the same African diaspora.
“Suriname would be more powerful. All these suppressed people would be more powerful if they united with each other instead of always having the regard at the oppressor,” Raoul says.
He believes the story of the jaguar man is not just Surinamese or Dutch. It is a story about humanity.
“Just like I don’t have to be white to learn something from Ernest Hemingway or enjoy Ernest Hemingway,” he says.
As he writes in his book:
‘Dear Douw, who art my forefather, for these past few years you’ve been playing a game with me. You send me signs and I follow them from Rotterdam to Paramaribo, from Rome to Recife. But every time I came close to treading on your tail, you sped away. We cannot go on like this forever.”
For Raoul de Jong, the journey is complete.
The jaguar man has finally been found—not in the Amazon rainforest, but in the history of Ghana, Suriname, and the resilience of the human spirit.
Ghana News
Ghanaian Firms Inject €425,000 of Own Funds to Ignite ‘Made in Ghana’ Health Innovation
In a powerful demonstration of local ownership, Ghanaian research institutions and pharmaceutical manufacturers are contributing an additional €425,000 of their own money to implement innovative health projects, signaling a robust commitment to advancing homegrown medical solutions beyond relying on foreign aid alone.
The co-funding is part of a €2 million grant package awarded under the PharmaVax Ghana program, backed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union (EU).
The initiative is designed to bridge the critical gap between scientific discovery and industrial-scale manufacturing within Ghana.
While the grants provide vital financial fuel, the local co-investment—which ranges from €10,000 to €150,000 across the eight winning projects—represents a crucial “skin in the game” approach.
It shows that local institutions are not merely passive recipients of aid, but active stakeholders willing to risk their own capital to bring products to the market. This practical commitment underscores the sustainability of the projects, ensuring they are not abandoned once international funding cycles end.
The projects span a wide range of medical priorities, including fast-dissolving oral tablets for child-friendly malaria treatment, AI-powered diagnostic tools for Mpox and malaria, standardized herbal treatments for hypertension and liver disease, and stability data for locally produced tetanus-diphtheria vaccines.
Highlighting the importance of this local participation, Dr. Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, Chief Executive Officer of the National Vaccine Institute (NVI), emphasized that the funds are meant to catalyze local capabilities.
“Ghana has the scientific talent, the research institutions and an increasingly capable pharmaceutical industry to develop health solutions that respond to our own priorities,” he stated. “By bringing these strengths together, we are creating the foundation for medicines and vaccines that are developed in Ghana, manufactured in Ghana, and have the potential to benefit the wider region.”
Ghana’s Minister of Health, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, echoed this sentiment, noting that the initiative marks a journey where researchers and manufacturers collaborate to transform scientific discoveries into life-saving products.
The €425,000 in local contributions—combined with the €2 million in grants and technical assistance from the EU and Germany—positions Ghana as a rising hub for pharmaceutical industrialization in West Africa, moving the nation closer to health security and economic self-reliance.
Ghana News
From Default to Discipline: How Ghana is Legally Binding Itself to Prevent the Next Debt Crisis
Fresh off a landmark agreement with Belgium that eases its debt burden, Ghana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has unveiled a sweeping package of legal and institutional reforms designed to permanently prevent the country from sliding back into the fiscal chaos that triggered its 2022 sovereign default.
The deal with Belgium to restructure €163 million in debt owed to the country’s Export Credit Agency marks a pivotal step towards completing Ghana’s broader debt restructuring program. Crucially, the agreement frees up much-needed “fiscal space” by slashing the amount of national revenue consumed by debt servicing. Minister Forson revealed that Ghana’s debt-service burden has fallen drastically from a crippling peak of roughly 50% to 55% of national revenue to less than 20% today—a shift that directly impacts the government’s ability to fund schools, hospitals, and roads.
However, the most significant aspect of Ghana’s strategy is its attempt to codify fiscal prudence into law, ensuring that the discipline learned from the crisis is not lost by future administrations.
A Three-Pronged Strategy for Fiscal Discipline
1. The Commitment Authorization Regime
At the core of the immediate controls is a strict mandate for all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). Under the amended Public Financial Management Act, no government institution can initiate a contract for goods, services, or works without first securing commitment authorization from the Finance Minister . This process, integrated with the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), acts as a “roadblock” to prevent overspending and the accumulation of hidden arrears—a practice that historically poisoned the country’s finances.
2. Binding Fiscal Rules in Law
Beyond day-to-day controls, the government has instituted statutory targets to ensure long-term solvency. The Public Financial Management Act has been amended to require a minimum annual primary surplus of 1.5% of GDP and to cap the national debt-to-GDP ratio at 45% by 2034 . These are not policy recommendations but binding legal requirements, with the Finance Minister potentially facing censure for breaching these targets.
3. Independent Oversight Institutions
To guarantee that fiscal responsibility is maintained even after Ghana concludes its International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, the government has established two powerful oversight bodies:
- The Value for Money Office: Parliament passed the Value-for-Money Office Bill in March 2026, creating an independent body to scrutinize major public expenditure. This office will combat inflated contracts, cost overruns, and abandoned projects by issuing mandatory “Value for Money Certificates” before major contracts are awarded.
- The Independent Fiscal Council: The government is establishing a council composed of locally appointed experts to provide advisory support on financial controls and fiscal decision-making . This council, scheduled to take effect after the IMF programme ends, aims to strengthen domestic oversight and accountability, ensuring that Ghana owns its fiscal destiny.
From Recovery to Sustainability
Finance Minister Ato Forson is clear about the goal: “We want to ensure that the fiscal rules that we have instituted today are enshrined in law, so that even if this government is not there, the next government will have to make sure that these fiscal rules are respected” .
The Belgium agreement is the immediate piece of good news that provides tangible relief—allowing Ghana to redirect more resources towards essential public services. But the real measure of Ghana’s recovery will be its ability to enforce these new legal shackles.
By moving from crisis management to institutionalized discipline, Ghana is attempting to break the cycle of over-borrowing, arrears, and economic collapse that has plagued the nation for decades.
Ghana News
EU and Germany Inject €2 Million into Ghana to Boost ‘Made in Africa’ Pharma Production
In a significant boost to Africa’s push for pharmaceutical self-reliance, the European Union (EU) and Germany have injected €2 million into Ghana to bridge the critical gap between laboratory research and industrial-scale manufacturing.
The funding, awarded under the PharmaVax Ghana programme, has been distributed to eight groundbreaking research partnerships aimed at developing and manufacturing medicines and vaccines locally, drastically reducing the continent’s historical reliance on imported drugs.
The announcement came during the “Research Meets Manufacturing” Award Ceremony in Accra on August 19, co-hosted by Ghana’s National Vaccine Institute (NVI) and the German development agency GIZ.
The grants are jointly funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union (EU) as part of the broader Team Europe Initiative on Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, Medicines and Health Technologies in Africa (MAV+).
This strategic geopolitical and economic move underscores Western Europe’s commitment to backing local African manufacturing ecosystems, countering the long-standing structural imbalance where Africa imports over 90% of its pharmaceuticals.
“A ceremony marks the beginning of an important journey—a journey that brings researchers, manufacturers, government and international partners together to transform scientific discoveries into medicines and vaccines that save and improve lives,” said Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Ghana’s Minister of Health, during the event.
Innovation Across the Health Spectrum
The eight winning projects, selected from 43 competitive proposals by an independent committee of nine Ghanaian experts, represent the breadth of the nation’s scientific talent. They include:
- AI-driven monoclonal antibodies and diagnostics for Mpox and malaria, using a Ghanaian artificial intelligence platform.
- Fast-dissolving oral tablets for the treatment of malaria in children, addressing critical issues of accurate dosing.
- Clinical trials for locally developed herbal treatments for prostate health, hypertension, and alcohol-related liver disease.
- Stability data generation to support regulatory approval of locally produced tetanus-diphtheria vaccines, snake venom antiserum, and pain management therapies.
A Foundation for Health Sovereignty
Dr. Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, Chief Executive Officer of the National Vaccine Institute, emphasized that the grants go far beyond financial aid.
“Ghana has the scientific talent, the research institutions and an increasingly capable pharmaceutical industry to develop health solutions that respond to our own priorities,” Dr. Sodzi-Tettey stated. “By bringing these strengths together, we are creating the foundation for medicines and vaccines that are developed in Ghana, manufactured in Ghana, and have the potential to benefit the wider region.”
Notably, Ghanaian partners are contributing an additional €425,000 towards implementing their projects, demonstrating a strong local commitment to advancing homegrown innovation. Alongside the direct funding, the projects will also receive technical assistance, networking opportunities, and knowledge exchange to ensure long-term commercial viability.
As the global health community increasingly looks to localized manufacturing to secure supply chains, this €2 million initiative serves as a pivotal case study.
It represents a concrete, actionable blueprint for how international development capital can ignite the “Made in Africa” pharmaceutical industrial wave, securing the continent’s health security and driving economic development from within.
Ghanaian Firms Inject €425,000 of Own Funds to Ignite ‘Made in Ghana’ Health Innovation
From Default to Discipline: How Ghana is Legally Binding Itself to Prevent the Next Debt Crisis
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Ghana News2 days agoFrom Default to Discipline: How Ghana is Legally Binding Itself to Prevent the Next Debt Crisis
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