New African Magazine creator text London New African Magazine 2014 monographic 2p The article looks at the effects of IFFs in Africa and the need for Africa to move away from the aid syndrome to trade.What should Africa do to attract more private equity and how can it convert the illicit financial flows to funds for domestic resource mobilization, climate change and conflict resolution – these are pertinent issues which affect the long term development of the African economies. Lessons learned from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have prompted a fresh wave of thinking. Africa needs a transformative developmental framework. Also, the continent must embark on reforms to capture currently unexplored or poorly managed resources. This includes curtailing illicit financial flows and rather transforming those funds into a powerful tool for enhancing domestic resource mobilization, as a way of furthering the continent’s development. This loss undermines revenue generation and reduces the benefits from economic activities, particularly in the extractive sector. It is possible to redirect IIFs to increase domestic resource mobilization, finance the adaptation costs of climate change, and tackle conflicts in the region. IFFs undermine Africa’s fiscal and policy space and deny its financial systems and Governments the opportunity to use domestic resource mobilization schemes. Tax evasion is a significant component of illicit financial flows as is aggressive tax avoidance and trade mispricing. Other means are unequal agreements and contracts by which resources are transferred from Africa. Illicit financial flows diminish resource capacity in the most vulnerable continent to the impact of climate change ADVANCE-FREE FRAUD AID BALANCE OF PAYMENTS CAPITAL FLIGHT CAPITAL OUTFLOW CAPITAL INFLOW COUNTERFEITING FAKING TRANSACTIONS FRAUD ENVIRONMENT GHOST PROJECTS ILLICIT WEALTH MISPRICING MONEY LAUNDERING NATURAL RESOURCES OVERPRICING SMUGGLING TAX EVASION TAX HAVENS http://iffoadatabase.trustafrica.org/iff//can_africa_move_away_from_aid_to_trade.pdf http://iffoadatabase.trustafrica.org/iff//can_africa_move_away_from_aid_to_trade.pdf