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Tag: Mbeki

  • Mbeki seeks improved Nigeria-South Africa relations

    Mbeki seeks improved Nigeria-South Africa relations

    • Ex-President to visit Tinubu soon

    Former South Africa President Thabo Mbeki yesterday stressed the need to strengthen the bilateral relations between Nigeria and his country.

    Mbeki who spoke in Johannesburg, described Nigeria and South Africa as arguably the two giants of the continent, promising to visit President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to discuss some of the issues bedevilling the continent.

    Fielding questions from reporters who are fellows of MTN Media Innovation Programme (MIP) in his Foundation office in the city, the former president decried the existing relationship between the two countries.

    He decried the declining Pan-Africanism spirit among African leaders, adding that instead of making progress, the reverse has become the order.

    Addressing the several African Union (AU) initiatives, including New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and Peer Review mechanism put in place to promote the development of the continent but appear to have gone moribund, Mbeki said the programmes were still in place, arguing that the sentiment that gave birth to them has not died.

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    He said: “Those programmes remain, fortunately, NEPAD and peer review, and presumably, therefore, the sentiment that drove those programs remains on the continent.  President Konare was the chair of the African Commission, the first chair of the commission of the AU, the headquarters of NEPAD was here (South Africa). It actually still remains here, to some extent. And President Konare insisted that it must remain here.

    “It’s a Pan African Development Programme of the AU, but its head must be headquartered here,” he said, adding that the chair resisted pressure to move it to Addis Ababa which is the headquarters of the AU because if it was moved, it would have killed it, adding that it will be subsumed by the bureaucracy of the AU.

  • How to end illicit financial flow from Africa, by Mbeki, Malami, Ahmed, others

    FORMER South African President Thabo Mbeki, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami (SAN), Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed and others have suggested ways of curbing illicit financial flows (IFF) out of the continent.

    They argued that the fight against the illicit outflow of funds from Africa could only be effectively contained by local initiatives driven by African states.

    They also suggested the strengthening of existing anti-corruption institutions, creation of new ones and the enactment of relevant laws to ensure that those who steal public funds in the continents were denied the opportunity to benefit from their crimes.

    Mbeki, Malami, Ahmed; Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Babatunde Fowler and Executive Secretary, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye spoke in Abuja on yesterday at the inter-ministerial meeting with African Union High Level Panel on Illicit Financial flow from Africa.

    Mbeki, who is the Chairman of the African Union High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, said by his panel’s finding, the continent loses at least $80 billion annually in outflow of illicit funds.

    He added: “That is a lot of money. It is a challenge, therefore, that we need to respond to that to see that we retain as much of these resources as possible on the continent to be able to address more effectively, these challenges of development that we face.”

    The former South African President, who hailed the decision African heads of state, who through the African Union, initiated the move to combat the illegal movement of funds from the continent, said there was the need to collaborate with foreign nations on the issue.

    Malami, who highlighted Nigeria’s efforts at curbing corruption and illicit flow of funds, called for collaborative efforts among all countries to make the crimes unattractive to those engaging in it.

    He said: “There should be collaboration to make it difficult for corrupt elements to succeed. How do we do that? To ensure that at the end of the day, we make it difficult for these corrupt elements to take benefit of the proceeds of corruption; make it difficult for corrupt elements to move freely?

    “That makes a mutual collaboration in term of visa restriction, restriction on investment with illicit funds and proceeds of corruption.”

    He hailed the Mbeki panel for its visit to Nigeria, which he said was timely in view of the urgent need for international collaboration to curb the challenge of unlawful exportation of funds from Africa.

    Mrs. Ahmed, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, said the Federal Government was committed to eradicating illicit financial flows.

    Owasanoye, who equally acknowledged Nigeria’s efforts at curbing the theft of public funds, said emphasis should be on implementation.

     

  • Mbeki: Obasanjo Library to help Africa recover its history

    Mbeki: Obasanjo Library to help Africa recover its history

    Former South Africa President Thabo Mbeki yesterday hailed the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, for its potential to help Africans recover their dignity and history.

    Mbeki said the OOPL is home to important records about Obasanjo, Nigeria and Africa, adding that Nigerians should assist the former Nigerian president to maintain and preserve the facility.

    According to him, he was visiting the library to see things for himself because Obasanjo had previously spoken about it.

    Mbeki, who toured the facility, noted that the OOPL initiative is worth replicating by other African leaders.

    He added: “Hopefully, some other African leaders can come and have a look because I think the example that you have set here is an example that will be worth repeating in other African countries. This is because of the collective history told in the way that you have told it here.

    “I think it will make a very important contribution, even in the recovering of our own dignity, our own identification of ourselves. Who are we? Where do we come from? Where do we think we are going?

    “I really want to say congratulations to the (former) President (Obasanjo) and hopefully, the people of Nigeria will help you in terms of maintaining this because it is really an important part of our heritage.”

    Mbeki said he was impressed that the library has many units touching on youth development, wildlife and parks, ideas and intellectual development among others.

    He said: “I didn’t know we have such a major and complex project. I had the picture in my head of a building, which is the library and that was all. But the complex is a very, very important contribution in terms of communicating what our leadership in the continent (Africa) can do.

    “The library itself, of course, tells a very important story about Obasanjo: from his early life experiences to post-government and all that.

    “It is a very important story. In fact, it is not just a story about Obasanjo. But a good part of the story is about Nigeria and Africa.

    “It is very important that record is available, not only to the people of Nigerian but also to everybody, particularly the people of the continent.

    “I was particularly pleased with the focus that is being paid to youths. Indeed, I think our youths need to be exposed to our past because it teaches them something about the responsibilities that they have to themselves, to their country and to the continent.

    “The idea of the complex is important because it is named after a very important leader of the continent. There is also a number of initiatives, the matter about reprocessing of plastic bottles and so on.

    “It is a very important part of the process of contributing to improving our environment, considering that all of these plastics litter the place. But they are collected and reprocessed to become useful again.

    “I’m also pleased about the fact that you have here an animal farm (the wild life park), which also makes an important statement to ourselves as Africans – about the necessary need for us to protect the African heritage.

    “That heritage is also in the animals. It is very much a part of the African environment. I think the message is part of what we need to attain to become important as well as the other things that are in the complex about youths, about intellectual ideas, the association with the United Nations Education Fund (UNESCO).”

  • Nigeria, other African nations must investigate allegations, says Mbeki

    Nigeria, other African nations must investigate allegations, says Mbeki

    Former South African President Thabo Mbeki wants Nigeria and other African countries to investigate how people on the continent may be benefiting from tax havens.

    Mbeki who chairs a joint AU/U.N. panel that put out a report on the problem last year believes African countries should investigate citizens named in the Panama Papers while political pressure must be stepped up against the countries that have become tax havens.

    Several prominent Nigerians including Senate President Bukola Saraki, his immediate predecessor David Mark, and former Defence Minister, General Yakubu Danjuma, were mentioned in the 11.5 million leaked financial and legal records of politicians, businessmen, celebrities, drug traffickers and sports stars from the internal database of the Panama-based law firm and offshore-provider, Mossack Fonseca.

    The papers were first published last Sunday.

    The British Prime Minister David Cameron who was also mentioned has admitted profiting from more than 30,000 pounds in an offshore tax haven.

    South Africa, Britain and France have said they will investigate their citizens mentioned in the documents.

    Mbeki also underscored the role one African country has played: The Seychelles off the eastern coast of Africa was the fourth most used tax haven by the firm in question, pointing out that the global outrage over the leak called  for concerted global action to end illicit financial flows, tax havens and financial secrecy jurisdictions.

    His panel had issued a report endorsed by African Heads of State and Government in January 2015, which showed that over $50 billion is lost annually between 2000 and 2008 to illicit financial outflows from Africa.

    “The staggering amount of illicit practices and the large number of global actors exposed by the Panama Papers demonstrate that Governments of Africa and the rest of the world cannot avoid firm action against the Tax Havens/Financial Secrecy Jurisdictions,” he said.

    “Now all countries within and outside Africa must follow suit and begin their own investigations. These investigations should not only be limited to the findings in the Panama Papers, but should go further to uncover other possible destinations of the proceeds from tax evasion.”

  • Mbeki panel backs Buhari’s moves to recover looted funds

    Mbeki panel backs Buhari’s moves to recover looted funds

    PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft stance and plans to recover stolen funds have earned the backing of African Union (AU)/United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s (UNECA) High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs).

    Former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who heads the panel, gave the backing while answering a question from The Nation at a news conference after the “First Subregional Workshop on Curbing IFFs” in Nairobi, Kenya.

    Mbeki, who noted that he had not closely followed what Buhari’s administration was doing, said the body would support the Federal Government’s plans to recover stolen assets.

    He added that the Federal Government’s plan would encourage other African governments, if it succeeds.

    His words: “I wouldn’t say personally I had followed closely what President Muhammadu Buhari is doing. But certainly with regards to the matter of the recovery of assets took out of the country illegally – whether it is money that is stolen by somebody or whatever happened – the recovery or repatriation of those assets is very much part of the programme to follow up on the findings of our panel on IFFs.

    “Certainly, if President Buhari or Nigerian government is attending to that, we would applaud that. We would say it is a very correct step to take to ensure that indeed these outflows, which left the country and the continent illegally, must return.

    “It would be very good if Nigeria could succeed in this, because it would encourage the rest of the continent to act with the necessary vigour to find and repatriate such funds. It would be a very good thing indeed.”

    The sub-regional conference brought together key decision-makers from the East, South and North African nations to discuss following concerns that IFFs from Africa were huge and increasing from the initial $50 billion annually.

    Among the meeting’s new findings was the need for closer monitoring of commercial routes of illicit outflows from the continent.

    Another finding was that new and innovative means of generating illicit flows were emerging.

    The ex-president called for stronger stance by governments and financial intelligence institutions in the fight against IFFs

    He said African countries needed closer collaboration and coordination to deal with the problem.

    “It’s an African problem, but the solution is global because these monies leave African to other countries,” he said.

    Mbeki noted that the burden to deal with the issue remains with the African countries.

    “I am saying, therefore, that the biggest role is with us as actors within the continent to make sure we deal with this and cooperate even on the issues of repatriation of what has been stashed abroad.

    “As African nations, we shouldn’t lose leadership on this issue because it is as important as the numerous development challenges that we are trying to address as a continent,” he said.

    Mbeki said African nations have been rendered poor through corruption and corporations that were evading paying billion in taxes.

    “This happens at the expense of development projects in the region. If these monies were retained in the respective countries, African countries’ would not be facing simple challenges in health care and poverty,” he added.

    Mbeki said lack of financial transparency in such dealings, which in many cases were being carried out by government officials, limits the efforts put in place to fight IFFs.

    “That is why we are asking political leaders in East Africa, West and Central Africa, North Africa and South Africa regions to be responsible for their nations.”

    Mbeki called on governments to establish strong regulations in tax collection and customs.

  • Mbeki panel to Nigeria, others: stop illicit financial flows

    Mbeki panel to Nigeria, others: stop illicit financial flows

    •Forum hails Buhari, Osinbajo for assets’ declaration

    AFRICAN Union (AU)/ United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s (UNECA) High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), led by former South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki and key policy-makers have alerted Nigeria and other continental leaders to the rising cases of IFFs from Africa, from the initial $50 billion yearly.

    At a two-day “First Subregional Workshop on Curbing IFFs from Africa”, in Nairobi, Kenya, the panel members and delegates said new and innovative ways of generating IFFs were emerging and African leaders must stop the menace through political measures.

    The forum, which stressed the need for transparency in tackling IFFs, hailed President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osibanjo for declaring their assets and urged other African leaders to follow their steps.

    The ex-South Africa’s president and other speakers contended that commercial routes of IFFs needed closer monitoring.

    They argued the need for capacity and institutional building, and stricter legislation since African countries depend mainly on their extractive industries.

    The Director of UNECA’s Capacity Development Division, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu, who presented the panel’s new findings, noted that new and innovative means of generating IFFs were emerging.

    “Tax incentives granted by African countries are not usually guided by cost-benefit analyses; corruption and abuse of entrusted power still remain a continuing concern.

    “African countries need to stimulate and expedite the asset recovery and repatriation,” he said.

    Dipeolu added: “Money laundering continues to require attention; weak national and regional capacities in Africa impede efforts to curb illicit financial flows; absence of a global and continental frameworks for addressing IFFs that speak to African interests; financial secrecy jurisdictions must come under closer scrutiny; development partners have an important role in curbing IFFs from Africa; IFF issues should be incorporated and better coordinated across UN processes and frameworks.”

    The Executive Secretary of African Capacity-Building Foundation (ACBF), Prof. Emmanuel Nnadozie, one of the key organisers of the workshop, said the AU’s agency would contribute to the validation of the programme document under preparation to tackle IFFs.

    “ACBF wishes to play a critical role in coordinating and building capacity of countries in their efforts to stem IFFs.

    “It will also support joint activities with partners, such as sub-regional workshops, implement capacity needs assessment initiatives to curb IFFs, design appropriate capacity development intervention and contribute to the effort for resources mobilisation,” he said.

    The workshop was organised by UNECA, ACBF, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and others to consider ways of implementing the findings of the panel and seek global cooperation.

    The Mbeki panel, which included nine members, was created by the Joint AU and UNECA Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and inaugurated in February 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

    It was urged to determine the nature and patterns of IFFs; establish the level of such outflows and assess their complex and long-term implications.

    The panel was also asked to consult and sensitise African governments and other stakeholders, including development partners, on the scale of the issue and propose policies and mobilise support for practices that would reverse these outflows.

    Its setting up was based on a report from Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington D.C., United States (U.S.)-based research and advocacy organisation that Africa lost about $854 billion in IFFs from 1970 through 2008.

    The GFI report also claimed that total illicit outflows might be as high as $1.8 trillion.

    The panel submitted its 122-page report to the summit of AU Heads of States and Governments in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January.

    Nigeria topped four other countries in IFFs with $89.5 billion as the highest outflow measured followed by Egypt ($70.5 billion), Algeria ($25.7 billion), Morocco ($25 billion), and South Africa ($24.9 billion).

    The report said IFFs played a large and detrimental role in the challenge of resource generation.

    In the case of Nigeria, it said: “We remain concerned about the effectiveness of the relevant institutions, including the lack of cooperation and coherent operations among the various agencies”.

     

  • Mbeki panel to Nigeria, others: stop illicit financial flows

    Nigerian and other continental leaders have been warned about huge and rising cases of Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) from Africa from initially estimated $50 billion yearly.

    AFRICAN Union (AU)/ United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s (UNECA) High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) led by former South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki and key policy-makers made the observation at a two-day “First Sub-regional Workshop on Curbing IFFs from Africa”, in Nairobi, Kenya.

    The panel members and delegates said new and innovative ways of generating IFFs were emerging and African leaders must stop the menace through political measures.

    The forum, which stressed the need for transparency in tackling IFFs, hailed President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osibanjo for declaring their assets and urged other African leaders to follow their steps.

    The ex-South Africa’s president and other speakers contended that commercial routes of IFFs need closer monitoring.
    They said there is need for capacity and institutional building, and stricter legislations since African countries depend mainly on their extractive industries.

    The Director of UNECA’s Capacity Development Division, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu, who presented the panel’s new findings, noted that new and innovative means of generating IFFs were emerging.
    “Tax incentives granted by African countries are not usually guided by cost-benefit analyses; corruption and abuse of entrusted power still remains a continuing concern.

    “African countries need to stimulate and expedite the asset recovery and repatriation,” he said.
    Dipeolu added: “Money laundering continues to require attention; weak national and regional capacities in Africa impede efforts to curb illicit financial flows; absence of global and continental frameworks for addressing IFFs that speaks to African interest.

    He said financial secrecy jurisdictions must come under closer scrutiny while development partners must have an important role in curbing IFFs from Africa.

    According to him, IFF issues should be incorporated and better coordinated across UN processes and frameworks; weak national and regional capacities in Africa impede efforts to curb IFFs; there is absence of a global and continental frameworks for addressing IFFs that speaks to African interests; financial secrecy jurisdictions must come under closer scrutiny; and development partners have an important role in curbing IFFs from Africa.”
    The Executive Secretary of African Capacity-Building Foundation (ACBF) Prof. Emmanuel Nnadozie, one of the key organisers of the workshop, said the AU’s agency would contribute to the validation of the programme document under preparation to tackle IFFs.

    “ACBF wishes to play a critical role in coordinating and building capacity of countries in their efforts to stem IFFs.

    “It will also support joint activities with partners such as sub regional workshops, implement capacity needs assessment initiatives to curb IFFs, design appropriate capacity development intervention, and contribute to the efforts for resources mobilisation,” he said.

    The workshop was organised by UNECA, ACBF, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and others to consider ways of implementing the findings of the panel and seek global cooperation.
    The Mbeki panel, which included nine members, was created by the Joint AU and UNECA Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and inaugurated in February 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
    It was urged to determine the nature and patterns of IFFs; establish the level of such outflows and assess their complex and long-term implications.

    The panel was also asked to consult and sensitise African governments and other stakeholders, including development partners, on the scale of the issue and propose policies and mobilise support for practices that would reverse these outflows.

  • Jonathan meets Mbeki, Abdusalami at Aso Rock

    Jonathan meets Mbeki, Abdusalami at Aso Rock

    President Goodluck Jonathan met yesterday with former South African President Thabo Mbeki and a former Head of State, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar.

    The closed-door meeting was held in the President’s official residence at the State House, Abuja.

    Details of discussion at the meeting were unknown as none of them spoke with reporters at the end of the meeting.

    No official statement has been issued concerning the meeting as at press time.

  • Africa loses $50b yearly to illegal financial outflow, says Mbeki

    Africa loses $50b yearly to illegal financial outflow, says Mbeki

    Former South African President Mr Thabo Mbeki yesterday said the African continent lost about $50 billion through illegal financial outflow of funds from the continent.

    Mbeki spoke at a high level meeting on “Tackling Illicit Financial Flows and Inequality in Africa”, on the sideline of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa in Abuja.

    According to him, the main channel through which money is being syphoned out of Africa, is through the commercial companies operating in the continent.

    “Annually, the continent is thought to lose about $50 billion .“This is about the same amount the continent receives in terms of annual foreign direct investments.

    “While it is often assumed that these outflows are linked to practices such as bribery, corruption or money laundering, studies have shown that it is not criminal activities but tax evasion that is responsible.

    “Commercial tax evasion most commonly takes the form of trade wrong pricing, which means a company manipulates the exports and imports to artificially depress profits and dodge tax,’’ he said.

    Mbeki said that tax havens, trade pricing and miss-invoicing were other strategies through which the continent loses money.

    “I have visited many African countries to see how this is being handled. Some of them already have institutions in place to tackle this.

    “However, they are not doing a great job. There is no cooperation but only disconnect.

    “So, it is necessary for legislation to be put in place to deal with these illicit financial outflows, while the global community is also important to solving this.

    “This is why we have interacted with the U.S., the IMF and other organisations to see what they can do and what they are already doing to solve this problem,’’ he said.

    Mbeki expressed hope that when all these foreign institutions worked together, along with governments of different states and civil societies on the continent, “it is  possible to recover and stop these illegal outflows’’.

    Also speaking, Miss Winnie Byanyima, the Executive Director, Oxfam International, a non-profit organisation, decried the level of poverty recorded on the continent, in spite of all its economic development.

    “How can it be that only a few are rich despite the economic development in the continent.

    “More than 80 per cent of its population is still leaving on less than one dollar a day, which is disheartening.

    “I believe that when Africa’s growth translate to health and free social services for the poor, inclusive growth will be achieved,’’ she said.

    Byanyima said that when Africa reduced its current level of raw material exportation to other continent, and focused on industrialisation, inequality would be reduced.

    According to her, this will also translate to creation of more jobs for the youths on the continent.

    Meanwhile, Guinea’s Minister of State for Mines and Geology, Mr Kerfalla Yansane, said Africa needed to take proper account of its natural resources.

    “Proper records on the mining of natural resources are not kept.

    “ There is also no knowledge of how most private companies are run, which has resulted in most of them having offshore accounts to cheat government of tax,’’ Yansane said.

    Mr Abdalla Hamdok, the Deputy Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Africa said that the 50 billion dollars alleged to be missing yearly from the continent was a conservative figure.

    Hamdok said that the real amount missing was enough to increase Africa’s Gross Domestic Product by 16 per cent, increase its savings and address all its infrastructure problems.

    The Chief Executive Officer, The Mara Group, Africa, Mr Ashish Thakkar, talking on behalf of the private sectors, said responsible investors were needed on the continent.

    “There is need for companies to stop influencing contracts and promoting corruption in Africa. They can do the right thing and do well,’’ he said.

    The Executive Director, Tax Justice Network, Africa, Mr Alvin Mosioma, said that the civil societies could only raise awareness on societal ills but that the political leaders on the continent held the key to its solution.

  • Mbeki, Tukur seek Africa’s economic integration

    Mbeki, Tukur seek Africa’s economic integration

    Former South African President, Mr Thabo Mbeki and Chairman, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, have stressed the need for Africa’s economic integration.

    This, according to them, is needed to raise the living standards of every African as the continent strives to emerge as a strong economic power bloc.

    In a statement yesterday, Tukur’s aide said the duo spoke at a consultative meeting at Tukur’s Abuja residence over the weekend.

    Mbeki, who was in Nigeria for the on-going African Union (AU)-Economic Commission of Africa (ECA) Summit of African Ministers of Finance, said with the attention Africa has been commanding among developed countries lately, it was time the continent began to re-energise itself economically.

    He said his consultation with Tukur on the need to develop a model of economic intergration for Africa was necessary owing to the latter’s position as the President of African Business Round Table (ABR) and the New Partnerships for African Development (NEPAD) Group.

    Mbeki, a founding member of the NEPAD Heads of Government and Implementation Group, said Nigeria has a critical role to play in the envisaged Africa’s economic integration.