African nations are losing an estimated US$88.6 billion every year in illicit financial flows across borders. IFFs bleed Africa of domestic financial resources for investment in development resulting in countries borrowing to finance their development projects. In fact, global-level analyses show that from 20 to 30 per cent of private wealth in many African countries is held in tax havens. The STB Consortium appreciates the intersectionality of debt and IFFs that create a vicious cycle of indebtedness that many African countries are struggling to escape. The Stop the Bleeding campaign is about financial resources leaving the continent to tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions. Debt repayments and debt accrued that are odious or illegitimate or that have been looted are also forms of financial resources leaving the continent.

IFFs imply an unequal distribution of wealth, which leads to higher levels of poverty and inequality. The negative impact on economic development arising from lower levels of investment and reduced Government spending is most keenly felt by the poor. The channels through which IFFs undermine efforts to reduce poverty mainly relate to a loss of Government revenue, leading to higher borrowing and thus lower levels of expenditure on education, health and infrastructure. Higher levels of poverty are, on average, observed in countries with a higher level of resource dependency. In countries with high levels of capital flight, limited economic diversification and a large proportion of the population living below the poverty line.

Did you know curbing annual capital flight of US$88.6 billion from Africa could bridge half of its SDG financing gap? In fact, curbing IFFs is part of SDG target 16.4 in support of peace, justice and strong institutions. However, curbing them would also contribute to meeting other goals such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12 among others.

One of the key determinants as to whether natural resources are “a blessing or a curse” appears to be the efficacy of governance, in particular the existence of sufficiently good institutions, whereby the main channels of the curse are high levels of public and private consumption, low and often inefficient investment and an overvalued currency. However, the significant aspect is that all of these channels can be neutralised or ameliorated through appropriate policies and strategies and the resource curse can become a blessing through the deployment of resource rents towards enhancing productive capacities and diversifying the economy. Fair taxes that require multinational corporations to pay their fair share of taxes, cubing illicit financial, fairer debt service arrangements, and enhancement in domestic revenue mobilisation.

The African Debt Campaign – ‘Stop the Bleeding’ is a broad movement of citizens from civil society, trade unions, women rights activists, and youth activists. Its success is hinged on the principle of inclusiveness that convenes multi-disciplinary advocacy agendas at regional and national platforms. It was established by the Stop the Bleeding Consortium in 2015.

The Stop the Bleeding Consortium (STBC) is a collective of seven Pan-African civil society organisations (CSOs) – Africa Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD); Africa Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET); International Trade Union Confederation Africa (ITUC Africa); Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU); Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA); Nawi – Afrifem Macroeconomics Collective (Nawi Collective); and Trust Africa (TA) – who have come together to launch the African Debt Campaign, under the auspices of The Stop the Bleeding Campaign at a time when debt servicing and unsustainable debt is adding to the bleeding of Africa in the wake of the global pandemic.

The Stop the Bleeding Campaign is a CSO founded movement bound by a shared vision of African citizens living with dignity in a just, integrated and prosperous Africa that equitably and sustainably harnesses its resources and is underpinned by strong and effective institutions. The ’Stop the Bleeding’ consortium represents a broad-based constituency covering over 250 African organisations in more than 50 African countries and provides the ideal organisational infrastructure to fast track the new African debt movement to achieve debt relief to African countries hit hard by 2 the Covid-19 pandemic. We are rooted in Pan African feminist principles outlined in the African Feminist Charter to inform a decolonised narrative of “social reproduction theory” that builds a narrative of the complex yet existing interaction between production and social reproduction that mainstream economics ignores yet has dire consequences.