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‘Africa Loses $50bn Yearly To Illegal Financial Outflow’

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12 years ago

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The former South African
President, Mr Thabo Mbeki last Wednesday said the African continent lost about 50 billion dollars through illegal financial outflow of funds from the continent.
Mbeki said this at a High Level meeting on “Tackling Illicit Financial Flows and Inequality in Africa”, on the sideline of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa in Abuja.
According to him, the main channel through which money is being syphoned out of Africa, is through the commercial companies operating in the continent.
“Annually, the continent is thought to lose about 50 billion dollars.
“This is about the same amount the continent receives in terms of annual foreign direct investments.
“While it is often assumed that these outflows are linked to practises such as bribery, corruption or money laundering, studies have shown that it is not criminal activities but tax evasion that is responsible.
“Commercial tax evasion most commonly takes the form of trade wrong pricing, which means a company manipulates the exports and imports to artificially depress profits and dodge tax,’’ he said.
Mbeki said that tax havens, trade pricing and miss-invoicing were other strategies through which the continent loses money.
“I have visited many African countries to see how this is being handled. Some of them already have institutions in place to tackle this.
“However, they are not doing a great job. There is no cooperation but only disconnect.
“So, it is necessary for legislation to be put in place to deal with these illicit financial outflows, while the global community is also important to solving this.
“This is why we have interacted with the U.S., the IMF and other organisations to see what they can do and what they are already doing to solve this problem,’’ he said.
Mbeki expressed hope that when all these foreign institutions worked together, along with governments of different states and civil societies on the continent, “it is  possible to recover and stop these illegal outflows’’.
Also speaking, Miss Winnie Byanyima, the Executive Director, Oxfam International, a non-profit organisation, decried the level of poverty recorded on the continent, in spite of all its economic development.
“How can it be that only a few are rich despite the economic development in the continent.
“More than 80 per cent of its population is still leaving on less than one dollar a day, which is disheartening.
“I believe that when Africa’s growth translate to health and free social services for the poor, inclusive growth will be achieved,’’ she said.
Byanyima said that when Africa reduced its current level of raw material exportation to other continent, and focused on industrialisation, inequality would be reduced.
According to her, this will also translate to creation of more jobs for the youths on the continent.
Meanwhile, Guinea’s Minister of State for Mines and Geology, Mr Kerfalla Yansane, said Africa needed to take proper account of its natural resources.
“Proper records on the mining of natural resources are not kept.
“ There is also no knowledge of how most private companies are run, which has resulted in most of them having offshore accounts to cheat government of tax,’’ Yansane said.
Mr Abdalla Hamdok, the Deputy Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Africa said that the 50 billion dollars alleged to be missing yearly from the continent was a conservative figure.
Hamdok said that the real amount missing was enough to increase Africa’s Gross Domestic Product by 16 per cent, increase its savings and address all its infrastructure problems.
The Chief Executive Officer, The Mara Group, Africa, Mr Ashish Thakkar, talking on behalf of the private sectors, said responsible investors were needed on the continent.
“There is need for companies to stop influencing contracts and promoting corruption in Africa. They can do the right thing and do well,’’ he said.
The Executive Director, Tax Justice Network, Africa, Mr Alvin Mosioma, said that the civil societies could only raise awareness on societal ills but that the political leaders on the continent held the key to its solution.

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Boat Mishap Kills Pastor, Wife And Church Members  In Brass Water

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1 week ago

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May 18, 2026

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A boat accident in Bayelsa state has killed a serving Pastor, Wife and other church members along Brass waterways
The sad incident happened at Odioama in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State when the Pastor, wife and  members of his church were in a programme.
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?Tide confirmed that the lifeless body of the Pastor’s wife has been found and deposited in a mortuary while the remains of her husband ,the Pastor is yet  to be recovered
as search party are still ongoing.
Although the real cause of the boat Mishap is not yet known as at the time of this report,  our Correspondent gathered  that the identities of the Pastor, wife and church members were not disclosed to the public.
The mishap, Tide gathered occurred on Friday morning when the church members were on a boat transit
The Bayelsa State government and the state police command are yet to issue official statement’s  on the sad accident
By: CHINEDU WOSU
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Rivers Workers Seek Scrapping Of Contributory Pension Scheme

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1 week ago

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May 18, 2026

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The Rivers State Council of  Nigeria Civil Service Union has called on the State Government to urgently scrap the contributory pension scheme, describing it as unfavourable to long-serving civil servants in the state.
Chairman of the union, Chukwuka Osuma, said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt,  recently.
Osuma said the current pension structure has continued to worsen post-retirement hardship for workers.
He noted that  the contributory pension scheme had failed to provide adequate retirement security for workers who had spent many years in service, especially those approaching retirement age.
According to him, civil servants who had served for more than 20 years were among the worst affected under the scheme, insisting that many retirees could no longer cope with prevailing economic realities.
He also  informed that the Union has made moves to showcase their concerns, pleading with Governor Siminalayi Fubara to abolish the pension policy and introduce a more favourable arrangement for affected workers.
“The union was not opposed to pension reforms, the contributory scheme should only apply to newly employed workers or those with fewer years in service”, he said.
Osuma explained that workers who had already spent decades in the civil service ought to remain under a more secure pension structure capable of guaranteeing stability after retirement.
The labour leader further noted that inflation and the rising cost of living had continued to erode the value of retirement savings, thereby increasing the suffering of pensioners across the country.
He also appealed to the state government to consider extending the years of service in the civil service from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65 years.
Osuma argued that such adjustment had become necessary in view of present-day economic realities and changing conditions in the workplace.
The unionist also reviewed that similar policies had already been adopted in some sectors and jurisdictions, expressing optimism that the State could also implement the reforms for the benefit of workers.
He however, commended Governor Fubara for approving an N85,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, noting that the amount was above the national benchmark of N70,000.
Osuma also acknowledged the government’s efforts in the area of workers’ promotions and bonuses, but insisted that pension reforms and extension of years of service remained critical to the long-term welfare and stability of civil servants in Rivers State.
By: King Onunwor
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FG Begins South-West Tour To Promote New Cooperative Bank

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2 weeks ago

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May 13, 2026

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The Federal Government has launched the South-West zonal engagement and ministerial advocacy tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria share capital mobilisation, sensitisation and cooperative sector digitalisation.
 Reports say the initiative was launched through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
According to reports, the advocacy tour, organised by the ministry’s Federal Department of Cooperatives, began on Monday in Lagos.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, said the initiative was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Abdullahi described the exercise as a strategic effort to reposition the cooperative sector as a key driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity.
“Today represents a defining moment in our collective determination to reposition the cooperative sector as a major driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity,” he said.
The minister noted  the modern cooperative movement in Nigeria originated in the South-West following the 1934 Strickland Report, which led to the enactment of the Cooperative Societies Ordinance of 1935.
According to him, the decision to commence the sensitisation and share capital mobilisation tour in the region is symbolic, as it marks a return to the roots of cooperative development in the country.
Abdullahi said the advocacy tour was a direct outcome of resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs held in Abuja in March 2026.
He said the council approved the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, a comprehensive framework designed to strengthen the cooperative sector and align it with the administration’s goal of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.
“The reform programme focuses on seven strategic pillars, including governance reforms, cooperative financing and the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, digitalisation, capacity building, value chain development, inclusion of youths, women and persons with disabilities, and strategic partnerships,” he said.
He said the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the digitalisation of the cooperative sector were the two major transformational initiatives under the programme.
“The Cooperative Bank of Nigeria is aimed at rebuilding a strong cooperative financial system capable of supporting cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, SMEs, youths, women and persons with disabilities with accessible and affordable financial services,” he said.
Abdullahi emphasised that the proposed bank would be government-enabled but not government-funded.
“Government is not establishing the bank as an owner, nor will it rely on Treasury Single Account funds.
“The role of government through the FMAFS is to provide policy support, stakeholder coordination, regulatory facilitation and an enabling environment under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,” he said.
Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to cooperative sector transformation.
She described cooperatives as critical tools for promoting inclusive growth, grassroots productivity, food security, financial inclusion and community wealth creation.
Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos State would continue to support reforms and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (2025–2030).
“Together, let us build a cooperative ecosystem that is modern, transparent, digitally enabled, financially inclusive and globally competitive.
“Let us build cooperatives that not only mobilise savings, but also mobilise prosperity,” she said.
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