From Rhetoric to Positive Action: Eastern and Southern African Parliamentarians Call for Urgent and Radical Measures to Tackle Illicit Financial Flows

  • This was one of the key messages at the regional meeting of the African Parliamentary Network on Illicit Financial Flows and Taxation (APNIFFT). Under the banner “Strengthening Parliamentarians’ Capacity to Combat Illicit Financial Flows and Promote Better Economic Governance in Africa,” the meeting brought together over 65 members of parliament and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) delegates representing APNIFFT caucuses from East and Southern Africa.

Next year, 2025, will mark a decade since the release of the Report of the High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa. Significant movement from both state and non-state actors at national and regional levels has occurred since this report’s launch. However, the general sentiment is that this movement has not translated into meaningful progress in advancing the tax justice agenda and addressing IFFs on the African continent.

Despite nearly a decade of discussions and political commitments to address the issues highlighted in the High-Level Report, Africa remains a net creditor to the world. Not only have outflows not reduced, but they have increased over time. The continent is losing increasingly more resources amidst a “poly-crisis” context, including the global economic downturn, prolonged COVID-19 effects, debt crisis, inflation, and climate change.

In 2015, the Mbeki Report estimated that Africa lost $50 billion annually to IFFs. Today, estimates show this figure has doubled, driven mainly by tax abuses by multinationals, criminal activities, and corruption in the public sector. These figures underscore that rhetoric about curbing IFFs has yet to yield the expected tangible outcomes.

Evidence has been generated, shared, and discussed with relevant stakeholders, and political will has been created. It is now time to act. The issue is not merely “political will” but “political courage” to implement necessary policy reforms. This is the consensus of over 65 parliamentarians and delegate CSOs from APNIFFT caucuses in East and Southern Africa.

Moving collectively towards concrete action with tangible benefits for African citizens

The legislative power, in its privileged position to oversee and effectively legislate measures against IFFs and tax injustices, is seen as being at the forefront for breaking the status quo.

As explained by Chennai Mukumba, Executive Director of the Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), after several years of building the necessary critical mass and political will, the goal now is to drive policy change and reforms, shifting from rhetoric to meaningful action: ‘This platform [APNIFFT] has been instrumental in raising awareness and sensitizing key stakeholders, particularly members of parliament. But our focus now is to see how this can translate into concrete actions that yield tangible benefits for the broader community,’ she emphasized.

The expansion of the APNIFFT platform since its conceptualization in 2015 demonstrates the progress achieved in mobilization and awareness-raising over the past few years. As noted by Mukumba, what began as informal engagements of individual parliamentarians from different countries has gradually evolved into a group of individuals that are organized in caucuses, some of which are recognized in national assemblies. This more organized structure, she pointed out, now gives them more sway than they had when the Mbeki Report was first published.

Parliamentarians need to operationalize these concerns within their parties

As explained by Hon. Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala, Chair of the APNIFFT, more than just increasing their capacity and mobilizing more actors on the subject, members of parliament need to ensure that the agenda of combating IFFs and tax injustices is firmly embedded in their party policies.

Party policies and constitutions play a pivotal role in shaping legislation, especially in ruling parties with majorities or coalition governments. “If you haven’t made it an electoral message, how then will the population hold you accountable against it? Same with the parties. If you haven’t forced your party to adopt this as policy, how then are we going to get it in Parliament”, Tshabalala stressed.

It is in this context that APNIFFT MPs are called to operationalize these concerns within their parties and make them central to their electoral messaging. Implementing these changes within party policies, noted Tshabalala, typically takes a few months, not years, making it a feasible goal in the short to medium term.

There is a significant opportunity for impact and the needed regional foundations have been established. As noted by Hon. Awodala Menyani, at the level of APNIFFT, despite the diversity in legal systems and political landscapes across the region, all countries with functional caucuses have chairpersons, vice-chairpersons, and members who not only are equipped to effectively contribute but also are aware of which organizations in their countries can provide the necessary support to push the agenda forward.

“We’ve spent years talking and raising awareness. The greatest achievement is that we are now moving from just talking to taking concrete actions. It’s no longer just about mobilizing MPs or understanding the issues; it’s about practical engagement with our counterparts.”, stressed Menyani.

These statements were made during the first regional Southern and Eastern APNIFFT meeting held from September 17th to 18th in Harare, Zimbabwe. The event brought together 65 members of parliament and civil society organizations representing APNIFFT caucuses from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Madagascar, Eswatini, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, and South Sudan.

The conference covered a range of economic justice issues, including the impact of debt on development and the role of parliamentarians in responsible borrowing. It also covered the effects of tax policies on IFFs, the importance of beneficial ownership transparency, and the influence of trade policies on IFFs. Additionally, the event also explored the potential of a UN Tax Convention to combat IFFs and the role of MPs in advocating for its adoption.

The African Parliamentary Network on Illicit Financial Flows and Taxation (APNIFFT) is a flagship program coordinated by Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA) with an overall objective to provide an opportunity for its members, the African legislators, to strategize, learn from each other and build their capacities in tackling Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) and tax injustices in the continent.   

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