Brussels, 22/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - Thabo Mbeki, the former president of South Africa who chairs the high level panel of the African Union and UN on illicit financial flows from Africa, is counting on the cooperation of the European Parliament to implement the panel's recommendations for putting an end to this scourge.
This is what he told MEPs in Brussels on 20 April during a joint meeting of the European Parliament's foreign affairs and development committees.
While Africa continues to suffer from a loss of development aid, it loses US$50 billion to US$60 billion per year in illicit financial flows that leave the continent through tax evasion or other, “often criminal” activities, Mbeki stated.
US$50 billion is double the sum that Africa receives in world flows of public development aid.
“African money ends up in tax havens, such as the ones leaked in the Panama Papers. We should go further and uncover other possible destinations. Cooperation with the European Parliament is essential in terms of building the capacity on the African continent to make sure illicit financial flows are reduced and ultimately disappear”, Mbeki stated.
The high level panel from the African Union and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) recommends setting up a global framework, enhancing national and regional capacities, increasing tax transparency and launching a country-by-country reporting process.
“What is missing now is the political will, which will make the difference”, said Louis Michel (ALDE, Belgium), who chairs the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee.
The leader of the African Union Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said the same thing when the subject was raised by the press at the last meeting of the EU and AU Commissions on 7 April. She had stated that the subject has been discussed by the Europeans and Africans since 2000, but that no help has yet been provided for Africa (see EUROPE 11528). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)