Akinwumi Adesina Urges Africa to Address $580bn Revenue Leak to Tackle $2tn Debt Burden

President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has called on African governments to end corruption and illicit capital flows that cost the continent more than $580 billion annually.

Adesina, in an interview with Bloomberg in Maputo, Mozambique’s capital, maintained that if African leaders are to deal with a debt pile that’s approaching $2 trillion, it must begin to take visible action to end sleaze.

While nations also need access to more concessional financing — and debt-restructuring where necessary — curbing outflows is crucial, Adesina, the lender’s president said.

Illicit financial flows and rising debt have become two of the most pressing challenges facing African economies today. Every year, the continent loses money through illegal channels such as tax evasion, trade misinvoicing, corruption, smuggling, and money laundering.

These outflows drain resources that could otherwise fund infrastructure, education, health, and job creation. According to international estimates, Africa loses more through illicit financial flows than it receives in aid and foreign direct investment combined.

At the same time, Africa’s debt burden has risen to worrisome levels as many countries continue to spend a growing portion of their revenues servicing external loans, leaving little fiscal space for social investment.

“It doesn’t matter how much water you pour into a bucket if the bucket is leaking,” he said during the interview. “If you’re able to reduce the leakages to illicit capital, also corruption and all of these things, Africa will be able to keep a lot of these resources and meet the amount of infrastructure it needs,” Adesina added.

The AfDB estimated in May that Africa loses about $1.6 billion daily to what it termed “financial leakages.” That figure includes the loss of $90 billion a year to illicit financial flows, with $275 billion “siphoned away” by multinational corporations shifting profits, and $148 billion going astray because of corruption.

The continent faces an annual infrastructure backlog of as much as $170 billion — which will be critical to address for economic development and job creation, the Bloomberg report said.

Yet many governments are grappling with the rising cost of servicing loans, which is at the highest level since the last debt crisis in the early 2000s, according to a working paper by the Boston University Global Development Policy Center and the Institute for Economic Justice.

More than half of African governments spend more on interest payments than public health, the working paper found.

Again, Edun, Cardoso Meet on Deepening Coordination between Fiscal, Monetary Policies

About two months after their last meeting, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun on Tuesday met with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Wale Edun on how to deepen coordination between monetary and fiscal authorities with a view to sustaining macroeconomic stability, strengthen investor confidence, and unlock private sector growth.

Both of them had met on the subject-matter on June 17, 2025 when the minister visited the CBN Governor at the apex bank’s headquarters in Abuja.

Like the previous meeting, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji was also in attendance at on Tuesday’s meeting, according to a statement by the Director, Information and Public Relations, Ministry of Finance, Mohammed Manga.

Edun reportedly reaffirmed at the meeting that close alignment between fiscal and monetary policy was critical to consolidating President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, ensuring inflation is contained, revenues are mobilised efficiently, and credit flows effectively to productive sectors.

The statement read: “In a significant step towards strengthening Nigeria’s economic fundamentals, the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, today, held a strategic meeting with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Olayemi Cardoso, at the CBN Headquarters in Abuja.

“The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji was also in attendance.

“The high-level engagement focused on deepening coordination between monetary and fiscal authorities to sustain macroeconomic stability, strengthen investor confidence, and unlock private sector growth.

“The Honourable Minister reaffirmed that close alignment between fiscal and monetary policy is critical to consolidating President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, ensuring inflation is contained, revenues are mobilised efficiently, and credit flows effectively to productive sectors.

“As the Nigerian economy continues to navigate complex global and domestic challenges, this meeting sends a strong signal of the government’s determination to work towards a more stable and prosperous economic future for all Nigerians.

“With coordinated policy efforts and a shared vision for economic growth, Nigeria is poised to unlock new opportunities for development and prosperity,” the statement concluded.

Ndubuisi Francis

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