Illicit Financial Flow

The report “Illicit Financial Flows, the economy of illicit trade in West Africa,” published by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), on 20 February, stated that Africa loses an average of $50 billion every year from Illicit financial flows.

That is more than the total  sum of development aid the continent receives.

These illicit flows have been increasing since the start of the century, when they stood at less than $20 billion a year.

Sub-Saharan Africa continues to appear at the bottom of Transparency International’s annual index.  African nations averaged a score of 32 on the 100-point scale. Somalia scored just nine.

Transparency International’s regional adviser for Southern Africa, Kate Muwoki, described the year in corruption on the continent.

“To put it simply, most African governments are failing to address corruption in the region, although we do have leaders that have invested in systemic responses to build strong institutions and create behavior change,” she told VOA from Berlin, where the organization is based. “... So, in terms of some of these rays of hope, at the top of the table we have Botswana, Seychelles, Cabo Verde, Rwanda and Namibia, who all score, currently, over 50 … And then, in terms of the very bottom of the table, there hasn’t been much change. We still have the likes of South Sudan, Somalia, right at the bottom, and significant declines from countries like Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau.”

No fewer than four heads of state accused of major financial crimes resigned in the past year: Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh, Angola’s Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and, most recently, South Africa’s Jacob Zuma. A high-level corruption scandal also tainted the administration of Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who resigned earlier this month amid mounting anti-government protests.