…As CoDA, AU Council, AUABC and APRM Draw Over 500 Key Govt Officials, Private Sector Professionals, CSOs, Community Organisations
Olasunmibo Aboluwade, Abuja
The Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR), Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), Africa’s natural resources management, and the implementation of the AU Mining Vision will take the centre stage of this year’s Citizens Forum in Accra, Ghana.
A session at the Citizens Forum themed “Towards a Coordinated and Coherent African Response to Illicit Financial Flows, Corruption and Natural Resources Management” will be held on 19th July, 2024 at the Kempinski Hotel, Accra, Ghana.
This disclosure is contained in a joint press statement signed by the organisers – Ms. Souad Aden-Osman, Executive Director of the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA) and Head of Secretariat of the African Union High Level Panel on IFFs from Africa; Mr. William Carew, Principal Coordinator and Head of Secretariat, African Union Economic Social and Cultural Council (AU ECOSOCC), and Ms. Charity Hanene Nchimunya, Executive Secretary of the African Union Advisory Board Against Corruption (AUABC).
The organisers explained that this year’s Citizens Forum is part of the determined and continued efforts to consolidate Africa’s response against illicit financial flows, democratic decline and corruption.
The statement reads, “This year’s forum will highlight democracy and institutional resilience, consisting of six plenaries and three thematic sessions. The Forum will see more than 500 participants from all over Africa.”
“With one of the thematic sessions focusing on illicit financial flows, corruption and natural resources management, CoDA is collaborating with AU ECOSOCC and AUABC to highlight continental processes, instruments and challenges for containing illicit outflows, corruption and unfair extraction of natural resources.“
The session will shed light on the progress that Africa has made in the last nine years, since the publication of the Mbeki Report, and recent steps taken, such as the endorsement by African Heads of State of the Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR), the adoption of the UN Declaration on Global Tax Reform, and ongoing reforms of the international financial institutions (IFIs). Further, the session will look into the journey since the launching of the African Mining Vision (AMV).”
The Head of Secretariat of AU High Level Panel on IFFs from Africa, Ms. Souad Aden-Osman disclosed that the scourge of illicit financial flows had remained and also had become more pressing since the publication of a comprehensive assessment of the state, magnitude, channels, and impact of illicit financial flows (IFFs) from Africa by the Thabo Mbeki-led-AU High Level Panel.
She stated, “Although Africa has come a long way since then, the need to create the necessary policy, institutional, and legal instruments to contain the scourge of IFFs remains and is even becoming more pressing.”
Latest reports by different institutions show that IFFs from Africa has actually increased to close to 100 billion USD per annum, with a large part of it coming from commercial activities. And the extractives sector, which contributes around 70% of Africa’s intermediate exports, sits at the centre of the problem.
She added, “Africa’s recent efforts for a coordinated and coherent response to IFFs include the adoption by the African Union Assembly of the Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR) in 2020, the 2022 UN resolution on global tax reform, and to a certain extent, the ongoing reform of the international financial institutions (IFIs).”
Mr William Carew of AU ECOSOCC noted, “as African countries fully participate in and/or take leadership in these critical processes, it will be prudent for African Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), community-based organisations, and citizens to support the continental and global endeavours.”
Ms. Charity Hanene Nchimunya of AUABC, on her part, highlighted that the thematic session of the Citizens Forum would provide stakeholders with up-to-date information regarding Africa’s stance on global tax negotiations, the state of implementation of CAPAR at national, regional, and global levels, as well as exchange views on the progress made in implementing the African Mining Vision (AMV).
Dr McBride Nkhalamba, Acting Director for Governance and Specialized Reporting at the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), stated that his organization is in the process of initiating a programme to monitor the state of natural resources governance in the continent.
Among other things, the programme will take stock of the findings of the Mechanism’s flagship reports and related research towards monitoring the processes and impacts arising from IFFs.
As such, the event will strengthen APRM’s potential to serve as Africa’s unique tool for the continuous monitoring of IFFs from Africa.
Expected to make presentations at the Africa’s Citizens Forum are the Head of Governance and Human Rights, African Union Commission for Political Affairs Peace and Security (AUC-PAPS), Mr. Issaka Garba, and the Coordinator of Third World Network (TWN), Dr. Yao Graham.
Among the panel of discussants are Members of the African Union High Level Panel, Hon. Irene Ovonji-Odida and Barrister Akere Muna, and a representative of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission of Nigeria, Ms. Ruqayyah Ibrahim.
