Scandal! Secret deals costing African lives
- London New African Magazine 2014.
- 3p.
The article reveals the scandalous amounts the least developed countries are losing through IFFs.It calls for the G20 summit to urgently address the scourge. A report revealed that at least a trillion dollars is taken out of developing countries each year through corruption, illegal tax evasion, the use of shell companies and shady deals, to the detriment of development programmes. The IFFs are mainly perpetuated through criminals and corrupt officials who exploit layers of secrecy to siphon off cash through money laundering, illegal tax evasion and embezzlement. Perhaps the greatest injustice of our lives is that we have some of the world’s poorest people living on top of some of the world’s richest natural resources, without benefitting from the wealth. When governments are robbed of their own resources to invest in health care or food security, it costs lives. This makes corruption a deadly killer that must be stopped urgently. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, an additional 10 million children per year could be educated if corruption was curbed, half a million primary school teachers could be hired, over 11 million people living with HIV/Aids could have ARVs provided for and 165 million vaccines could be paid for. The TDS is a global problem that calls for global solutions. Completely stopping the TDS requires commitment and action from world leaders to remove the enabling conditions in their countries that allow this costly corruption to continue and thrive.
