Zambia Congress of Trade Union-ZCTU says Illicit Financial Flow is a thorn in the flesh of the Zambian people and cannot be allowed to continue.
Speaking during the ZCTU/ Friedrich Ebert Stiftung – FES illicit financial flow (IFF) workshop on 27 March 2019, ZCTU Secretary General Cosmas Mukuka said the current economic challenges arising from the huge debt burden are indicative of government’s failure to collect potential revenue due to tax manipulation practice by multinational companies.
Mukuka alleged that a well-researched evidence by the Financial Intelligent Centre reports showed that Zambia is losing US$3 billion annually through illicit financial flows.
The High Level Panel of Africa Union chaired by former president of South Africa Thobo. Mbeki also compared a report in which it was reported that Africa was losing close to US$50 billion dollars through illicit financial flow.
“Comrades this is a battle we cannot afford to lose. The workers of this country have suffered for way too long, the burden of paying tax has been-pressed on our shoulders and yet the big multinational companies continue to dodge taxes through illicit financial flows. The mining companies in particular are the biggest culprits in this regards,” he said.
The secretary General added that it is in public domain that the country is losing huge sums of revenue from the extractive industry through tax manipulation practices. It is for this reason that congress has stepped up the fight by coming up with activities to raise awareness on the negative impacts of illicit financial flows.
ZCTU is stepping up efforts and collaborating with other like-minded organization such as the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Extractive Industry Transparent Initiative (EITI)-Zambia, the Center for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD), CSOs and other government agencies to pressure decision makers to put in place corrective measures to stop illicit financial flows.
And FES representative Cathy Shorty says a lot of illicit financial flows take place in the mines while 80 percent of the country’s GDP is derived from these mines. She says illicit financial flow deals disadvantages countries like Zambia and there is need for social justice to be seen in this area.
