As European Union and African Union representatives meet on Monday 28 November 2022 to review progress following the EU-AU Summit in February, 32 African and European civil society organisations have raised concerns about threats to ground-breaking EU transparency measures, which could threaten all that has been put in place to prevent and combat the problem of illicit financial flows out of Africa. 

The Center for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch organisations state:

“Illicit financial flows rob African nations of almost US$89 billion each year. Anonymous companies are often used as the get-away vehicles of the corrupt, helping syphon these funds out of Africa – often to Europe – denying countries revenues that could be used to boost economies, and fund health and education systems.

“The EU has been a trailblazer in cracking down on the use of these phantom firms. The requirement under the 2018 Anti-Money Laundering Directive for EU countries to set up and make public registers of beneficial owners of companies was a major step forward, helping shine a light on this murky world. A 22 November 2022 ruling by the European Court of Justice invalidating these rules and so denying public access to beneficial ownership information is therefore extremely concerning...

Members of Local Accountability Networks (LANets) in Tamale have undergone training to build their capacity to enable them to monitor projects being implemented using the country’s oil revenues. As part of the day’s training held in Tamale, participants were taken through the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) and the issues they should look out for when it was time for monitoring the projects such as missing projects, touch and go where projects were not completed, to ups, and situations where the money was not even found at all.

Mrs Beauty Emefa Narteh, the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), has called on citizens and activists to consider the fight against corruption as a core patriotic duty.She said as the fight against corruption progressed, citizens should be encouraged to persist in the efforts, and help secure the sought change in behaviour.

Anti-Corruption campaigners have asked the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the Auditor-General to investigate and verify all assets declared by public office holders.

Anti-Corruption campaigners have asked the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the Auditor-General to investigate and verify all assets declared by public office holders.

The Executive Secretary of the Ghana anti-corruption coalition, Madam Beauty Emefa Narteh, has stated that a way to fighting corruption among the public office holders in the country is for the Ghana Audit Service to be critically involved in making sure these Public Office Holders heed to declaration of their assets upon assumption of office.