Zimbabwe is said to be losing more than US$200m annually through illicit financial flows (IFFs), which continue to ravage the economy, according to Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ).
This was revealed by Farai Mutondoro, head of programmes at TlZ, who was speaking on Thursday at the ongoing African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) meeting in Gaborone, Botswana. Mutondiro had this to say:
I can’t give exact figures but Zimbabwe is losing quite a lot. Every month, Zimbabwe is losing about US$15m worth of gold (which translates to about US$180m a year). Gold finds its way into the black market where players sell their gold at higher prices than what the government is paying them.
… Corruption is rife in Zimbabwe. The auditor-general notes a violation of procurement processes in her reports, but nothing is being done. This means the political economy is the key driver of IFFs.
From our research, we also found that there was a collision of the political class, where members of the ruling party and the Chinese, which is the international actor, collude through bilateral trade ties, where millions are syphoned outside the country.