Africa Loses over 148 USD Billion to Corruption Annually

As President Muhammadu Buhari prepares to make a presentation on corruption in Africa, report says the continent loses $148 billion a year to the scourge.

The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Mr. Vera Songwe, said on Thursday that the money was lost through various fraudulent activities,
Songwa addressed the 32nd ordinary session of the Executive Council of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa.

She said: “$148 billion are drained out of the continent through various corrupt activities, and the acts represent about 25 per cent of Africa’s average GDP.”
She said corruption is the major sources and elements of financial flows which drains tremendous resources from the continent.

The continent loses between $50 billion and $80 billion a year due to illicit financial flows, said Songwe quoting a report of president Mbeki’s high-level panel on illicit financial flow (IFF)
For the continent that desperately requires substantial financial resources to meet its extensive development needs, including in filling its huge infrastructure gap, such a significant amount of financial resources leakage through IFF and various forms of corrupt practices is definitely something that needs to be fought with every energy that can be mustered, she added.


https://anticorruptiondigest.com/anti-corruption-news/2018/01/26/africa-loses-u-s-148-billion-to-corruption-annually/