Kofi Annan: Africa plundered by secret mining deals

Kofi Annan: Africa plundered by secret mining deals



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Tax avoidance, secret mining deals and financial transfers are depriving Africa of the benefits of its resources boom, ex-UN chief Kofi Annan has said.
Firms that shift profits to lower tax jurisdictions cost Africa $38bn (£25bn) a year, says a report produced by a panel he heads.

"Africa loses twice as much money through these loopholes as it gets from donors," Mr Annan told the BBC. It was like taking food off the tables of the poor, he said.

The Africa Progress Report is released every May - produced by a panel of 10 prominent figures, including former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Graca Machel, the wife of South African ex-President Nelson Mandela.

'Highly opaque' African countries needed to improve governance and the world's richest nations should help introduce global rules on transparency and taxation, Mr Annan said.

The report gave the Democratic Republic of Congo as an example, where between 2010 and 2012 five under-priced mining concessions were sold in "highly opaque and secretive deals".

Kofi Annan: "Transparency is a powerful tool"

This cost the country, which the charity Save the Children said earlier this week was the world's worst place to be a mother, $1.3bn in revenues. This figure was equivalent to double DR Congo's health and education budgets combined, the report said.

DR Congo's mining minister disputed the findings, saying the country had "lost nothing". "These assets were ceded in total transparency," Martin Kabwelulu told Reuters news agency.

The report added that many mineral-rich countries needed "urgently to review the design of their tax regimes", which were designed to attract foreign investment when commodity prices were low.

It quotes a review in Zambia which found that between 2005 and 2009, 500,000 copper mine workers were paying a higher rate of tax than major multinational mining firms.

Africa loses more through what it calls "illicit outflows" than it gets in aid and foreign direct investment, it explains.

"We are not getting the revenues we deserve often because of either corrupt practices, transfer pricing, tax evasion and all sorts of activities that deprive us of our due," Mr Annan told the BBC's Newsday programme.

"Transparency is a powerful tool," he said, adding that the report was urging African leaders to put "accountability centre stage".

Mr Annan said African governments needed to insist that local companies became involved in mining deals and manage them in "such a way that it also creates employment".

"This Africa cannot do alone. The tax evasion, avoidance, secret bank accounts are problems for the world… so we all need to work together particularly the G8, as they meet next month, to work to ensure we have a multilateral solution to this crisis," he said.

For richer nations "if a company avoids tax or transfers the money to offshore account what they lose is revenues", Mr Annan said.

"Here on our continent, it affects the life of women and children - in effect in some situations it is like taking food off the table for the poor."

BBC News - Kofi Annan: Africa plundered by secret mining deals

JAMAINI ANGALIA HAPO MAMBO MAGUMU SANA. MAFISADI HAO

that is exactly what is happening in TZ mines contracts are signed at the hotels in UK what a shame, We need to have a transparent process in this country

Baba wa Taifa aliwahi kusema Serikali isiyokusanya kodi ni Serikali corrupt.Hii kauli ndiyo aliyoithibitisha tena Koffi Annan kwenye ripoti iliyotolewa hivi karibuni.

Kiukweli moja ya niliyoyaona kwenye taarifa hiyo kama ilivyonukuliwa kwene bbc ni mzigo mkubwa wa kodi wanaobebeshwa wafanyakazi kama gharama ya siri nzito zilizokuwamo ndani ya mikataba hii na viongozi vinara wa ufisadi hushikiria msimamo wa kusisitiza usiri wa mikataba udumu.

Nchini kwetu kuanzia mawasiliano ya simu,bandari, ving'amuzi, sekta ya anga,nishati kama umeme,gesi,mafuta, madini,mali asili,utalii na kwingineko wimbo wa kukwepa kodi kwa wawekezaji wa nje ni sehemu ya maisha ya serikali hii iliyopo madarakani, huku ikiwatwisha vilivyo mzigo wa kodi wafanyakazi wake hasa wa sekta binafsi bila hata kuwapa nafuu kwenye matumizi ya mahitaji yao ya kila siku mfano ni huu mfumo wa PAYE ambao mfanyakazi (hasa wa sekta binafsi) analipa kila kinachotengeneza "gross salary" kama hiyo haitoshi akiingia mtaani anakumbana na "VAT" kwa kila bidhaa na huduma anayoilipia kuipata .

Hapa pia tukumbuke hata wafanya biashara wa ndani tu wakubwa na kawaida wanakwepa mno ya kodi kwa mfano mfanyabiashara anayepata faida chini kidogo ya milioni 40 kwa mwaka kodi anayolipa ni ndogo kulinganisha na mfanyakazi anayepata mshahara wa shilingi millioni 4 kwa mwezi(anayelipa milioni 13 kwa mwaka kama kodi).

Kwa mfano kwa mujibu wa hotuba ya Rais J.K mei mosi mwaka 2013 makusanyo ya kodi yameongezeka hadi kufikia shilingi bilioni 637 tukichukua haraka haraka kama wastani wa makusanyo ya kila mwezi kwa mwaka ni takribani trilioni 7.6 kwa mwaka mfano wafanyakazi tuchukulie laki 5 walipwe milioni 1 kwa mwezi( kwa mujibu wa ripoti ya "Employment and Earings Survey Analytical report 2010-2011" kuna watanzania 1,362,559 wapo kwenye ajira rasmi na pia bila kuhusisha wageni na mapato mbali mbali ya likizo bonasi na malipo mbalimbali ya fidia kwa wafanyakazi zinazokatwa kodi) utakuta mapato ya kodi ya PAYE pekeyake ni sawa na trilioni 1.15 sawa na takribani 15% ya mapato yote ya mwaka. Huu ni mzigo mzito wanaopewa wafanyakazi kama adhabu ya kuchangia taifa lao. Na hii inatokana na uzembe,uvivu na ufisadi wa serikali yetu kwa kuzembea kukusanya kodi ipasavyo.

Tufanye nini Watanzania wenzangu ili tuweze kuziadabisha serikali zetu kama wanavyotujadili kina Koffi Annan na kuondoa huu uzembe, ufisadi, wizi na uonevu? Tutakua wategemezi wa kiuchumi mpaka lini wakati kodi za mishahara tu pekee zinachangia zaidi ya asilimia 15% ya makusanyo yetu kwa mwaka? Wapi madini yetu ,ardhi yetu, misitu, bandari,anga, bahari, utalii, mapato yake keli ni sahihi kuchangia asilimia pungufu ya 75 tu jamani?

Tujadiliane tuone tutafanya nini kwa njia ya amani ili kuepukana na hizi laana.

Soma hapa hii habari ya bbc http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22478994

kutokulipa kodi ndio umekuwa mradi na faida ya mafisadi wengi nchini \\\\kwenye nchi za afrika ukiondoa nchi chache sana zilizo na maadili kama RWANDA utaona mfano nchi yetu kuna misamaha ya KODI kuna usiri mkubwa sana kwa wafanyabishara wakubwa na mapato yao hakuna mpango wowote wenye lengo la kukomboa wanyonge mikataba inafanyika mahotelini na hakuna uwazi katika matumizi ya RASLIMALI
AFRIKA SIJUI KIZA HICHI KITAISHA LINI? watoto wa vigogo ndio wamiliki wa mali na miradi mikubwa wapi kuna maadili ovyo tu kila kitu hasa TANZANIA

Africa inapata hasara zaidi ya mara mbili ya fedha inazopata kutoka kwa wafadhili.
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