BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – The African Development Bank (AfDB) has raised alarm that Africa is losing about $50 billion annually to illicit financial flow in the continent.
This is even as the Bank said lack of accurate data from all African countries have made it difficult to confirm the figure that could be higher than currently estimated
AfDB’s Senior Director for the Nigeria Country Office, Mr Ebrima Faal, who stated this at a workshop on the ‘Role of Parliament in Combating Illicit Financial Flows from Africa’ in Abuja, on Tuesday, said; “Estimates on Illicit Financial Flows are highly disparate due to differences in methodologies.”
According to Faal, “Current estimates suggest Africa could be losing more than 50 billion dollars annually in Illicit Financial Flows”, adding; “This is about the same size as total FDI or total remittance flows and slightly higher than Overseas Development Assistance (ODA).”
The Bank director, who stated that these estimates may well be lower than actual outflows as accurate data do not exist for all African countries, said some isolated forms of illicit financial flows are omitted and not easy to track or estimated.
On the workshop, Faal explained that it was aimed at reviewing the challenges of illicit financial flows as well as learn from the best practices deployed by experts to fight unlawful movement of public funds.
He said that aside sharing experiences in recovering the proceeds of crime from criminals, the forum also seeks to explore the role parliamentarians can play in facilitating the work of the practitioners..
For Faal, the role of Parliaments in promoting economic recovery and sustainable development remains fundamental, stressing that Legislatures have the constitutional mandate to both oversee government and hold it accountable to the people.
“They also play a primary role in promoting good economic and financial governance through effective oversight of the public budget and expenditure management.
“It is a vital democratic institution serving as a bridge between the state and society”, he said.
The AfDB Director insisted that Parliaments, in exercising their legislative, oversight and representative roles, help to strengthen good governance for enhanced growth and poverty reduction.
He said in this regard, AfDB remains committed to support capacity building for African Parliaments that would reinforce their oversight function.
In his remarks, Special Adviser to the Vice President on Economic Matters, Mr Adeyemi Dipeolu noted that current studies indicate that illicit financial flows have impacted negatively on the African economies.
Dipeolu said this harmful act has not only reduced availability of resources for development, but undermined efforts at ensuring growth and development without the continent, adding that illicit financial flow have also weakened international cooperation in Africa and contributed to austerity measures within the region.
Maintaining that the development has triggered negative effect on growth within the continent, the Presidential aide said transparency and accountability in the system would improve the financial fortunes of African countries.
He therefore charged parliamentarians to be focused on good legislation that would put an end to illegal financial flows across Africa.
