Home News “Africans must take interest on the fight against IFF’s and taxation”

“Africans must take interest on the fight against IFF’s and taxation”

by Kudakwashe Vhenge

By Sukuoluhle Ndlovu and Kudakwashe Vhenge

A week long Pan African Conference which started on the 8th ending on the 13th of November 2020 has called on Africans to guard against Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) and taxation.

The conference which is being facilitated by Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) is being held under the theme “The Africa We Want Post Covid -19 Optimizing Domestic Resource Mobilization from the Extractive Sector for Africa’s Transformation”

Most African countries are in a huge mess as they face tax avoidance and IFF’s and this has affected the economy of African countries.

The Pan African conference which is held annually aims to bring together different key stakeholders involved in the efforts to curb IFF’s a domestic resource mobilization in Africa as well as enhancing domestic resource mobilization in the continent. 

In a statement, ZIMCODD said that the conference is being held for a purpose of enhancing change through exploring opportunities for collaborations and common action in the African countries.

“Different stakeholders are invited to the conference to take stock of the current state of affairs on Illicit Financial Flows in Africa as well as progress made through global, regional and country level initiatives. The conference seeks to also act as a platform to articulate problems, propose solutions and explore opportunities for collaboration and common action,”.

AFRODAD, a civil society organization advocating for debt cancellation in Africa estimates that between 2009 and 2013, Zimbabwe lost US$2.7billion from the mining sector alone through IFF’s, tax evasion, tax incentives, corruption and trade mis-invoicing.

The perversity of IFF’s is a symptom and accelerant of Zimbabwe’s fledging rentier economic, power and political authority in the hands of small military and political elite.

ZIMCODD also noted that the media played a vital role in putting illicit financial flows on the public agenda, amplifying the voices of affected communities and seeking accountability from the extractive sector.

Speaking at an event that was held at a local hotel in Harare on Monday to mark the start of this year’s conference, various media stakeholders represented by their editors pledged their commitment to play their role in this fight.

The event was held under the theme “Civil Society and Media working together to curb IFFs and enhance domestic resource mobilization in Zimbabwe,

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