Zimbabwe has lost a cumulative US$12 billion in the last three decades through illegal financial outflows ranging from secret financial deals, tax avoidance and illegal commercial activities, a new report jointly produced by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Washington-based US think tank Global Financial Integrity has shown. The haemorrhage is part of an estimated US$1,4 trillion that was lost by the African continent in the three decades from 1980 to 2009. Significant losses in the region were, however, recorded in neighbouring countries such as South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique where outflows were measured at US$184 billion, US$31 billion and US$25 billion respectively. It is believed that between US$30 billion and US$40 billion is leaving Africa each year. Policymakers are concerned that although the outflows continue to increase, the inflows to the continent remain worryingly low. According to the report, which is titled Illicit Financial Flow and the Problem of Net Resource Transfers from Africa: 1980-2009, African countries received resources amounting to 2,3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the 1980s and just under 1 percent in the 1990s.
Posted on: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 08:18:33 +0000
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