Namibian agencies converge to fight illicit financial flows
Cannot be tackled by a single country, deputy minister says
The deputy finance minister has applauded steps taken to address illicit financial flows.
Deputy finance minister Maureen Hinda-Mbuende has applauded steps taken by state agencies to curb incidents of illicit financial flows (IFFs), saying they have wide socioeconomic ramifications on society. She made the remarks during the opening of a workshop held to help state institutions and agencies effectively deal with IFFs.
“I have confidence in our baby steps in search of appropriate processes and legal frameworks in minimising the level of IFFs in our context. And, by its very nature of being a cross-cutting and cross-border activity, or rather crime, it cannot be tackled with a single-country approach, thus Namibia highly values the international stakeholders that are holding our hands,” she said.
According to Hinda-Mbuende, IFFs perpetuate Africa’s economic dependence on external aid, reflected in the development assistance portion within the budgets of African governments.
“The impact of IFFs in Africa is much more devastating as annual estimates being siphoned from the continent are between US$30 billion and US$60 billion, and we are not confident it is all-inclusive. It may exclude some elements of IFFs,” the deputy minister said.
Human and social toll
“The human and social toll of corporate tax abuse is gigantic. It means less funding for not only infrastructure, but to education, health, nutrition, protection of women’s rights or environmental protection programmes. Why do I even find it relevant to mention it here? It is for us to be reminded of the importance of the task at hand and the potential impact of it,” she added.
Alone, Namibia will be ineffective in dealing with the scourge of IFFs, and therefore relies on the support of the international community to address the issue, Hinda-Mbuende said.
“No country can effectively eliminate IFFs solo, and Namibia is no exception. The cross-border nature of these flows requires close international cooperation. Combatting IFFs is a cornerstone of the human right economy, and to building more fair and resilient societies that invest in human dignity, human rights and justice,” she said.