In 2022, the 10 th Pan African Conference on Illicit Financial Flows and Taxation was held on the 28 th and 29 th September in Lusaka, Zambia with the objective of convening to identify the roles of various key stakeholders in addressing Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) and domestic resource mobilization (DRM) in Africa. The theme of the conference was “Tax Justice amid Multiple Crises.”
The conference attracted an attendance of 300 participants drawn from stakeholders working on illicit financial flows, taxation, and economic development including Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Government Representatives, Members of Parliament from over 21 African Nations, Individual Researchers, and Media organizations across Africa.
The conference was held on the backdrop of crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crises and the Russia-Ukraine war.
The convening provided a roadmap for addressing some of the challenges that are as a result of debt distress, climate emergence, conflict, and the Covid-19 pandemic and it was noted that the synergy and the policy capacity needed to mobilise for changes and generate the political will to implement the changes make it imperative that all stakeholders align their analysis and coordinate advocacy and campaigns.
The attendees highlighted that while domestic measures to tackle illicit financial flows are important, they can never be adequate to curb IFFs. They require sub-regional, continental cooperation and coordination of efforts to champion structural and governance changes in the global financial and economic architecture.
The attendees agreed that the development of policy and fostering change at national, sub- regional, continental, and global levels required the change in unequal power relationships between and within countries.
This convening was convened jointly with various stakeholders that included Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD), African Parliamentary Network on Illicit Financial Flows and Taxation (APNIFFT) and African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF).
More about the event can be found at the PAC 2022 website https://panconfifftax.net/