This week parliamentarians from the East and Southern African region are gathered in Harare, Zimbabwe for the regional African Parliamentary Network on Illicit Financial Flows and Taxation (APNIFFT) meeting 16 to 19 September 2024.
Organised under the theme ‘Strengthening Parliamentarians’ Capacities to Combat Illicit Financial Flows and Promote Fair Taxation in Africa’, the conference’s primary goal is to strengthen the capacities of African legislators to combat IFFs and push for more just taxation policies effectively. Key objectives include enhancing knowledge, capacity building, networking, and action planning to promote economic governance and justice.
The conference will bring together members of parliament representing APNIFFT national caucuses from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, and South Sudan. It has been organised by TJNA in collaboration with APNIFFT, Stop the Bleeding Campaign, African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD), Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD), Alternative Information & Development Centre (AIDC), Danish Church Aid, Norwegian Church Aid and Transparency International.
With an estimated $88.6 billion lost annually to IFFs, Africa’s development and economic potential are severely hampered. These outflows, driven by tax avoidance, abusive transfer pricing, and enabled by lax regulations, are deepening inequalities and undermining governance structures. The conference will provide parliamentarians a platform to strategise and collaborate on combating IFFs, advancing fair taxation, and addressing the continent’s growing debt burden.
The meeting will dig into critical economic justice issues, including analysing Africa’s debt crisis, exploring tax policies’ impact on IFF, and proposing strategies for a fairer taxation system, addressing enablers of IFF and advocating for transparency-enhancing legislation, investigating trade roles in curbing IFFs on regional cooperation, and finally discussing the role of African MPs in championing the UN Tax Convention to strengthen global tax regulations.