African countries have been challenged to find ways to avert illegal movement of money out of the continent.
Experts have said an estimated US$15 billion is illicitly moved each year out of Africa to the developed nations,.
The revelations were made during a high-Level Panel on Illicit Financial flows from Africa chaired by former South African President Thabo Mbeki,concluded its third meeting in Nairobi on Wednesday.
“This problem (illicit flow of funds) is very serious. We are engaging with governments across the continent to come up with ways to stop it,” Mbeki told a Press in Nairobi.
Mbeki says multinational corporations are the top culprits as they have financial muscles to take part in the prohibited business.
“Multinational corporations are the only ones that can move $15 billion, not those with $5,” he said.
Mbeki praised African governments for showing the will to curb the menace blamed for slow pace in development.
Africa’s finance ministers formed the panel and tasked the retired president with finding the sources of the money and ways the money was channelled to the recipient countries.
Mbeki blamed “corrupt practices in the public and private sectors” saying they promoted the illicit movement.
The team’s next meeting will be in Tunis as it traverses the continent in search of ways to stop the money that would otherwise have been used for development in the continent still in need of funds to finance development programmes.
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