PAP President Charumbira Sounds the Alarm on Illicit Financial Flows at Lusaka STC Meeting

Opening the Fourth Sub‑Committee on Tax and Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) of the African Union’s Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration, the President of the Pan‑African Parliament (PAP), H.E. Chief Fortune Charumbira, delivered a stark warning: unless Africa “stops the bleeding,” the continent’s development ambitions under Agenda 2063 will remain out of reach. The week‑long meeting—held under the theme “Advancing Africa’s Agenda 2063 Through Tax and Fiscal Policy Measures to Enhance Domestic Resource Mobilisation”—brings together finance ministries, tax administrators, regional bodies and civil‑society experts in Lusaka from 5–9 May 2025.

The scale of the haemorrhage

President Charumbira centred his remarks on the mind‑boggling sums Africa is losing every year through illicit financial flows:

• US $1.8 trillion vanished between 1970 and 2008.
• US $88.6 billion still escapes the continent annually—money equivalent to 3.7 percent of Africa’s current GDP.
• Nigeria alone lost as much as 100 000–250 000 barrels of oil per day in 2013—revenue that could have electrified the entire country by 2030.
• Up to 90 percent of Sierra Leone’s diamond trade slips out through smuggling.
• Countries with high IFFs spend 25 percent less on health and 58 percent less on education than their peers.

“These figures make for sad reading,” Charumbira told delegates, adding that Africa cannot finance its own priorities—from universal health coverage to quality education—while such sums continue to disappear offshore.

Why urgency matters

Charumbira’s speech did more than catalogue losses; it spelled out why action must be immediate and comprehensive:

1. IFFs are intertwined with broader governance failures. Corruption, weak institutions, fragile tax administrations and lack of capacity allow illicit flows to thrive. Tackling IFFs therefore demands reforms that reach well beyond revenue offices.
2. Conflict is a catalyst. From Eastern DRC to Sudan, violent instability both feeds on and fuels illicit trade in minerals and other resources. “Beneficiaries of war profits seek to perpetuate conflict,” he warned, calling peace and security efforts integral to stemming outflows.
3. PAP’s legislative leverage is under‑used. With five MPs from every AU member state, PAP is uniquely placed to harmonise tax and anti‑IFF laws, yet is rarely consulted in continental initiatives. “The PAP is low‑hanging fruit,” he emphasized, urging the AU Commission and member states to enlist parliamentarians as champions of reform.

4.     Political will is decisive. Many culprits sit in positions of power; without determined leadership and cross‑border cooperation—in origin, transit and destination countries—technical fixes will fail

Aligning with the STC agenda

The Concept Note for the Sub‑Committee underlines exactly the challenges Charumbira flagged: a continental tax‑to‑GDP ratio of just 16.5 percent and annual IFFs equal to Africa’s total inflows of FDI and development aid

Throughout the week, experts will debate a UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, beneficial‑ownership transparency, digital‑economy taxation and a continent‑wide IFF policy‑tracker—all areas where Charumbira urged PAP legislators to take an active role.

A call to “stop the bleeding”

In closing, the PAP President invoked former South African President Thabo Mbeki’s famous warning about a world of “islands of wealth surrounded by a sea of poverty,” reminding delegates that Africa’s own resources can—and must—fund its development aspirations

His message was clear: the statistics are devastating, the causes are systemic, and the response must be both political and legislative. If the Lusaka Sub‑Committee rises to that challenge, it will mark a decisive step toward plugging Africa’s financial leaks and realizing the continent’s collective vision of prosperity by 2063.