S. African deputy president vows to stem illicit financial outflows from Africa

CAPE TOWN, March 20 (Xinhua) -- South Africa will continue to cooperate with other African countries and the world to stem the tide of illicit financial outflows from the continent, Deputy President Mabuza said on Tuesday.

"More specifically, it is critical to strengthen the capacity of our institutions to institute measures and strict controls that enable us to detect and prevent illicit financial flows and profit shifting," Mabuza said when answering questions in Parliament.

Mabuza described illicit financial outflows as "one of the biggest problems confronting the developing world today, especially the African continent."

Africa loses 80 billion U.S. dollars annually from illicit financial flows, according to figures provided by the African Union.

This is the money that could be better spent on economic infrastructure, education, social services growth, development, deficit reduction and the reduction of indebtedness across the African continent, Mabuza said.

"We, therefore, need to respond in equal measure and with the requisite firmness, decisiveness and strong legislative and criminal justice mechanisms to root out this crime," he said.

A further problem confronting especially the African continent concerns the illegal movements of money or capital from one country to another, he added.

South Africa is strengthening its institutional capacity to monitor, detect and prevent profit shifting, Mabuza said. Enditem