ECA chief says illicit financial flows hampering Africa's efforts to reduce inequalities

Abstract

Inequality remains a critical issue that should be addressed with urgency if costly consequences are to be avoided, Executive Secretary Carlos Lopes of the Economic Commission for Africa said Tuesday night. In a keynote address to a symposium jointly hosted by Oxfam and Oxford University to examine, among other issues, the causes and consequences of uneven economic growth and rising inequality between and within nations, Mr. Lopes said inequality should never be accepted as a way of life. Mr. Lopes said inequalities in Africa could be greatly reduced if illicit financial outflows, which are costing the continent an estimated $60 billion annually, were stemmed. Addressing illicit financial flows, Mr. Lopes said, requires the collective efforts of both national governments and the international community.