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From Patrick Chitumba in Mangochi, Malawi
ZIMBABWE has taken a giant leap forward under the leadership of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and it is destined for socio-economic progress.

In an interview on the sidelines of the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (Afrodad) summer school in Mangochi, Malawi, yesterday award winning scholar, legal practitioner and academic at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, Ms Layla Abdul Latiff said Zimbabwe under the new dispensation was poised for growth.

“Zimbabwe has had a political problem under the previous regime; there were so many embargos and restrictions. It was wrong to have so much embargos on the Zimbabwean people; the inflation was terrible like what is happening in Venezuela now,” she said.

“But now with your new President, Zimbabwe has taken a giant leap towards democracy and development. We are seeing a new face of a President. We are going to see a new form of investment, you will see a lot of foreign multinational companies and more foreign-based organisations coming to develop your country,” she said.

Ms Latiff said Zimbabwe must guard against having money moved from the country through corruption.

“The Government must be on the lookout for double taxation agreements, it must strategise with other Sadc countries on multinational companies so that the Government doesn’t have similar problems faced by its neighbours to do with the movement of money outside the country. The FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) should not be in the form of money to be lost through debt shifting, profit shifting, Zimbabwe has potential and the people should enjoy proceeds from the new Government,” she said.

Ms Latiff said the African Development Bank (AFDB) estimated that $1 trillion has been lost from Africa because of corporate tax evasion.

“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is saying globally $200 billion is lost through tax losses. If we come close to home, the high level panel report on Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) chaired by former South Africa president Mr Thabo Mbeki estimated that $50 billion per year is lost from Africa through trade mis-invoicing,” she said.

Ms Latiff said the money being lost is a significant amount.

“This is the amount that is needed to eradicate poverty from Africa, to build hospitals, build infrastructure, provide social welfare, the amount needed to send our children to school, the amount needed to narrow the income inequality gap between the rich and the poor in Africa,” she said.

The summer school running under the theme “raising the voice against illicit financial flows, corruption, debt and inequality in Africa: tackling existing and new challenges” is being attended by members of parliament, legal practitioners and members of the civil society from Africa.