New Telegraph 
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) says Africa is losing an estimated 40 billion dollars annually to illicit financial flows (IFFs) in the extractive sector.
Mr Antonio Pedro, ECA’s Deputy Executive Secretary, in a statement said the trend undermines development and deepens economic inequality on the continent Pedro spoke at a High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) in New York, marking close of the 2025 African Dialogue Series (ADS), themed “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.”
He said the massive financial losses due to IFFs deprived African populations of essential services and economic opportunities, emphasising that tackling these outflows must be central to the continent’s development agenda.
“IFFs in the extractive sector are a symptom of a deeper structural problem; Africa’s overdependence on raw material exports, a colonialera model that continues to limit the continent’s growth,” Pedro said.
The deputy executive secretary said that the practice of exporting raw minerals by Africa without value addition amounted to exporting jobs.
According to him, Africa can no longer afford this situation as it needs to create at least 20 million jobs yearly to absorb its growing youth population.
Pedro argued that sustainable development and reparatory justice must go hand in hand, and emphasised the link between IFFs and the broader call for justice for Africa and its diaspora.
