Africa loses about US$ 88.6 billion a year to illicit financial flows, the UN Conference on Trade and Development estimated in its 2020 report. As a candidate for UN Secretary-General, President Macky Sall places the fight against these flows among his priorities.

More than the aid received. Drained through fraud or trade mis-invoicing, that sum exceeds the official development aid the continent receives and comes close to that aid and foreign direct investment combined. Across developing countries as a whole, the money that leaves each year through illegal channels or tax avoidance also exceeds what they receive in aid. A country can thus levy tax and watch the revenue slip away before it reaches its budget.

Tax rules written by a club. The norms of international taxation were long decided at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the club of wealthy countries. The states that suffer most from tax avoidance therefore apply rules they did not write. A company declares its profits where the tax is low, and the country where the value was produced collects nothing.

The framework convention under negotiation at the UN. In 2024, states opened at the United Nations the negotiation of a framework convention on international tax cooperation. This negotiation moves the writing of the rules to a forum where each state carries one vote. There, the majority of countries regains a hand over revenue that funds its public services.

Public budgets to protect. A sum diverted from a public budget is taken from the schools and clinics it would have funded. Without setting taxes or prosecuting fraud, the Secretary-General can support the convention now under negotiation and place illicit financial flows on the agenda of development.

Experience at the African Union. These commitments, which concern the African continent first, rest on twelve years as head of state and on the chairmanship of the African Union in 2022. That experience explains why the vision statement filed with the United Nations frames its proposals as obligations, among them a renewed multilateralism.

Africa at its heart, the world in its sights.

UNCTAD's 2020 report on economic development in Africa and the negotiation of the United Nations framework convention on international tax cooperation are public. Read all public positions at www.mackysall.net