Illicit outflows hit Africa hard – UN official

Africa is losing an estimated $60bn annually due to illicit financial outflows and there is a need to implement strategic policies to curb the leakages, a senior UN official has noted. UN Economic Commission for Africa adviser, Vanessa Ushie, who attended the Zimbabwe Alternative Mining Indaba in Bulawayo last week, said the continent was failing to secure maximum benefits from its vast natural resources due to illicit financial outflows, particularly in the mining sector. ‘This is due to revenue losses and leakages,’ Ushie told The Chronicle. Ushie said African countries had to be more strategic in the way they managed their resources, especially minerals, to promote sustainable development.