29 November 2016
African Stakeholders Step Up Efforts to Combat Illicit Financial Flows
Photo by IISD/ENB
story highlights

At a workshop hosted by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and partners, members of a Consortium of Stakeholders stressed the need for organizations working on stemming IFFs in Africa to collaborate on: generating and disseminating knowledge on IFFs; strengthening institutional, regulatory and human capacity to counter IFFs; mobilizing resources; and monitoring the implementation process.

The Consortium plans to establish an IFF unit, which is expected to become an ‘African Financial Transparency Centre’.

25 November 2016: Participants at a workshop on stemming illicit financial flows (IFFs) from Africa have agreed to intensify efforts to stop an activity that is costing the region over US$50 billion annually. The workshop was hosted by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and partners.

The workshop, which convened in Nairobi, Kenya, from 21-22 November 2016, brought together members of a Consortium of Stakeholders, which was established to oversee implementation of the recommendations of the report of the High-Level Panel on IFFs, chaired by former president of South Africa Thabo Mbeki.

The workshop reviewed and endorsed the draft terms of reference of the Consortium, which aim to: provide strategic oversight on the interventions to counter IFFs; build coherence in efforts to stem IFFs; and agree on joint work programmes and delivery of activities. In addition, the Consortium will contribute to the annual report on curbing IFFs to be submitted to the African Union (AU) Summit in 2017.

Workshop participants stressed the need for organizations working on stemming IFFs in Africa to collaborate on such activities as: generating and disseminating knowledge on IFFs; strengthening institutional, regulatory and human capacity to counter IFFs; mobilizing resources; and monitoring the implementation process.

Participants stressed that the definition of IFF must incorporate tax avoidance, a significant source of losses, which is not always considered by partners outside of Africa.

Participants agreed that combatting IFFs must be driven by Africans, and that the Consortium’s work and its programme over the next five years should be driven by African priorities. Participants stressed that the definition of IFF must incorporate tax avoidance, a significant source of losses, which is not always considered by partners outside of Africa. The Consortium will also leverage partnerships, provide a platform for follow-up efforts to stop IFFs, and establish an IFF unit, which is expected to become an ‘African Financial Transparency Centre.’

Representatives from the AU Commission (AUC), ECA, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Capacity Building Foundation, the Open Society Foundation and Tax Justice Network-Africa were among the participants at the workshop.[ECA Press Release, 18 November] [ECA Press Release, 21 November] [ECA Press Release, 25 November]

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