Multinationals Still Bleeding Africa Dry

The recently released African Union report into illicit financial flows claims that between 1970 and 2008 $850b has been siphoned out of the continent through illegal payments and tax avoidance schemes by multinationals. $20b has been lost since 2008. This one of damaging legacies of colonialism exacerbated by a culture of local corruption that has gone unchecked. It is easy to see why there is so much underdevelopment in the continent. It is no surprise that current campaign pledges to curb corruption being made in the lead up to next week's elections in Nigeria do not include any specifics on what fraudulent practices and how they will be tackled. That is no surprise since both presidential candidates are probably implicated in the tolerance of this bleeding of resources. Unfortunately, even if the problem of illicit flows by multinationals is addressed it doesn't stop rampant financial fraud and misappropriation that have become the norm across the continent.