AU panel: Africa must unite to fight corruption | Poorest citizens worst hit

The African Union high-level panel on illicit financial flows (AU HLP on IFF) says countries on the continent must unite to tackle corruption to meet the sustainable development goal (SDG) targets.

Souad Aden-Osman, head of the secretariat of the AU high-level panel and the working group on Common Africa Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR), spoke on Tuesday at the opening conference on addressing IFFs and asset recovery in Senegal.

In her presentation titled “Tracing the journey towards CAPAR and progress so far”, Aden-Osman said African countries including, Nigeria have witnessed an alarming rate of corruption and illicit financial flows.

She said Africa would have access to the resources for developmental gains if the continent was able to crush corruption.

“The AU HLP on IFF and Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA) will continue to advocate for more inclusive and transparent international financial and trade governance systems that are fairer for African countries, establish the necessary platforms for presenting a unified African voice in this regard, and strengthen partnerships with continental and regional organisations, think tanks and research institutions,” she said.

“The AU HLP on IFFs from Africa began implementing Phase II of its work, which focuses on national level actions by African member states. Ongoing efforts to assess the status of implementation of the HLP on IFFs recommendations cover the following African Union Member States – Algeria, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania and Tunisia.”

Akere Muna, a member of the AU HLP on IFF and the working group on CAPAR, said the poorest citizens on the continent are the worst hit by the weight of corruption.

“The poorest and weakest suffer most anywhere corruption and IFFs thrive. At EITI, we have seen the complicity between government officials and extractive companies, multinational corporations, to the detriment of the citizens,” he said.

“How is it possible that a private jet is loaded with cash and flown to some countries in Africa just to pay bribes?”

The conference on IFFs and asset recovery brings together policymakers, regulators, civil society organisations, industry stakeholders and the media to foster dialogue and collaboration in promoting accountability and transparent management of oil, gas, and mineral resources.

The conference is also targeted at scaling up efforts with national anti-corruption agencies in raising public awareness, tracing and recovery of assets illicitly acquired from Africa, through tax avoidance and criminal activities such as tax evasion, money laundering, and corruption.