AfDB and GFI creator text Tunis AfDB and GFI 2013 monographic 3p. A joint report by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Global Financial Integrity (GFI) on IFFOA. The report, finds that Africa suffered between US$597 billion and US$1.4 trillion in net outflows between 1980 and 2009 after adjusting net recorded transfers for illicit financial outflows. The traditional thinking has always been that the West is pouring money into Africa through foreign aid and other private sector flows, without receiving much in return. The report turns that logic upside down – Africa has been a net creditor to the rest of the world for decades, ”The major findings of the report are that the unrecorded illicit outflows considerably swamped cumulative net recorded flows over the same period. However, the AfDB and GFI note that such significant transfers of capital out of the continent are likely to have a negative effect on economic development. The African continent is resource-rich and such, with good resource husbandry, Africa could be in a position to finance much of its own development. Curtailing these outflows should be paramount to policymakers in Africa and in the West because they drive and are, in turn, driven by a poor business climate and poor overall governance, both of which hamper economic growth. The slower growth rate results in more aid dependency with foreign taxpayer funds filling the shortfall in domestic revenue—to the extent that tax evasion is a part of illicit flows. Policy recommendations are also given in the report. AID, BANKING SECRECY, CAPITAL FLIGHT, CAPITAL OUTFLOW, DEBT http://iffoadatabase.trustafrica.org/iff/new_afdb-gfi_joint_report_africa_a_net_creditor_to_the_rest_of_the_world.pdf http://iffoadatabase.trustafrica.org/iff/new_afdb-gfi_joint_report_africa_a_net_creditor_to_the_rest_of_the_world.pdf