Economy
Africa Needs Stronger Tax, Trade Laws—Experts
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Experts have advised African leaders to come up with stronger tax laws and trade treaties in order to block huge amount of money lost to weak tax laws and unfair trade treaties.
At the Pan-African Conference on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) from Africa organised by Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA) in Nairobi, Kenya, speakers agreed that a lot of funds have been lost to weak tax laws and trade treaties and that African countries must begin a holistic review of all trade and tax laws to address this.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), over $50 billion has been lost to multinationals who take advantage of weak tax laws and unfair trade treaties.
In an interview with NAN on the sidelines of the conference, Mr Jason Braganza, Deputy Executive Director, TJNA said Africa was yet to ascertain the real amount being lost to IFFs as the quoted $50 billion was just a fraction of the entire sum.
He said that the conference was part of efforts to broaden Africa’s approach at defining and calculating illicit financial flows with a view to stopping them.
Mr Braganza said that there were a number of ways through which multinational companies cheated African countries, taking advantage of weak laws and policies without breaking them.
“When we talk about broadening the definition, what we mean is the need to come up with an approach that includes aggressive tax planning by high net worth individuals as well as big multinational corporations who engage in harmful tax practices in order to maximise their profits.
“They take advantage of weak tax policies and tax laws in many African countries, which make the countries vulnerable to these multinationals who are able to manipulate the laws without breaking them.
“Therefore taking away the profits from where they are generated and moved to other tax jurisdictions like offshore tax havens where there is high level of secrecy and tax laws are in favour of multinationals.
“The way businesses conduct their activities, the international financial architecture is very fractured, fractured in the sense that the complexity of operating tools and models for business transactions means that one single business can have over 100 subsidiaries or special purpose vehicles.
“This sort of arrangement provides them with the platform to hide or not fully reveal the kind of activities they have been undertaking, the kind of incomes they are making.
“They are able to hide what they are supposed to be paying to government, this is a big problem,” he said.
Mr Braganza said the illicit ways high net worth individuals and corporations were exploiting weak existing laws, policies and legislation was having a detrimental impact on government ability to collect revenue.
He said also that it significantly impacted on government’s ability to implement development projects.
He therefore advised African countries to review their laws to check such excesses by multinationals.
Mr Braganza said also that there were weak laws that allowed multinationals to trade within themselves and either charge lower or higher rates to evade tax liability.
He said that the law review should also include transparency in transactions and audit reports adding that African countries must collaborate to check the activities of these companies.
He also called for review of all trade treaties especially those entered into for decades and were not beneficial to Africa but to the western nations.
“There are a number of laws, policies and strategies that need to be strengthened in order to avoid and close these loops.
“In Uganda for instance, the government has taken the decision to suspend the negotiation of new treaties pending a review of all existing treaties to understand what exactly is contained in these treaties.
“You can go even in the case of Kenya, there are treaties that dates back to the 70s that have never been analysed for people to understand what the country has signed itself up for.
“The first step is to really appreciate that some of the treaties that were signed several decades ago are harmful and detrimental to the economies.
“The second point is for members of parliament to get involved in this conversation and be part of the negotiation process that governments enter into and not leave it only to technocrats or bureaucrats.
“This is because the lawmakers are the ones who pass laws that have significant impact on how a government or an economy can run,” he said.
Mr Braganza also called on African government to show more political commitments to implement recommendations that had already been made on these issues.
“The high level panel is a good example, they have made very good set of recommendations that can actually help African governments to try and stop IFFs, to better improve the way they negotiate treaties.
“The African Tax Administrative Forum (ATAF) is another platform where governments should sign on, because ATAF is responsible and involved in developing legislation and policy guidelines for Africa perspective.
“So we advise that African countries review all trade treaties but most importantly, implement the recommendations that they have signed up to.
“There is a charter that all heads of state of AU have signed up to, committing themselves to working with their members of parliament to try and curb IFFs,” he said.
Mr Braganza said that TJNA had also been engaging parliaments from different African countries to build their skills to understand the technicality of some of these issues so as to inform their law making process.
He added that TJNA had a specific programme, African Parliamentary Network on Illicit Financial Flows and Tax which was dedicated to working with lawmakers across the continent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Insurance Commission has issued new guidelines for the collection, management, and administration of the Insurance Policyholders’ Protection Fund.
In a circular issued to all insurance institutions on Tuesday, the regulator also set May 31, 2026, as the deadline for insurers to submit their assessment returns for the 2025 financial year.
Recall that on August 5, 2025, President Bola Tinubu signed into law the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act ( NIIRA 2025).
This landmark legislation repeals the Insurance Act 2003, and consolidates related provisions, ushering in a modern regulatory framework. It lays a strong foundation for sustainable growth and increased investment in the country’s insurance sector.
The commission said the guidelines were issued in exercise of its powers under the 2025 Act and other existing insurance laws and regulations to provide regulatory clarity, improve guidance, and ensure ease of compliance across the industry.
According to NAICOM, the guidelines establish a comprehensive structure for the operation of the IPPF, which serves as a statutory safety net to protect insurance policyholders in the event of distress or insolvency of a licensed insurer or reinsurer. The framework also provides direction on the reimbursement of loans by insurers and reinsurers.
NAICOM stated, “The guidelines ensure regulatory clarity, guidance and ease of compliance, as it provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for the collection, management, and administration of the Fund, which serves as a statutory safety net designed to protect insurance policyholders against distress and insolvency of a licensed insurer or reinsurer, including guidance for the reimbursement of loans by an insurer or reinsurer.
“Please be informed that the IPPF Assessment Returns in respect of the year 2025 shall be submitted to the Commission not later than 31st May 2026, while subsequent submissions shall be in line with Section 4.3 of the Guideline on Insurance Policyholders Protection Fund.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Dangote Refinery on Wednesday returned the petrol price to N1,200 per litre, less than 24 hours after it increased it by 5 per cent.
The private refinery had raised the ex-depot price by N75 on Tuesday, citing pressure from volatile global oil markets, but quickly brought it back to N1,200 per litre from N1,275 per litre.
The swift downward review is directly linked to a sharp drop in international crude prices. Brent crude has plunged to $95.05 per barrel, after a 13 per cent decline, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude closed at $97.18, recording nearly a 14 per cent drop.
This development comes after US President Donald Trump announced a conditional two-week ceasefire with Iran, which eased fears of immediate supply disruptions in the global oil market.
“This will be a double-sided CEASEFIRE!” Trump said on social media, marking a sharp reversal from his earlier warning that “a whole civilisation will die tonight” if Iran failed to comply with US demands.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mr Abbas Araqchi, confirmed that the country would halt attacks provided strikes against Iran cease and transit through the Strait of Hormuz is coordinated by Iranian forces.
Despite the breakthrough, tensions remain elevated across the region, with several Gulf states reporting missile launches, drone activity, or issuing civil defence warnings.
While oil prices have fallen back below $100, they remain significantly elevated after surging by a record amount in March. Market analysts noted that regardless of how successful the ceasefire is, geopolitical risk related to the Strait of Hormuz is likely to remain elevated for the foreseeable future under the control of Iran.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil deliveries from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery doubled in March, boosting prospects for improved fuel availability.
This was revealed by the chief executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Aliko Dangote, on Tuesday, when he received the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mrs Amina Mohammed, at the industrial complex in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
While speaking on feedstock supply, Mr Dangote commended the NNPC for increasing crude deliveries to the refinery in March, noting that volumes rose to 10 cargoes—six supplied in Naira and four in Dollars—to support domestic fuel availability, according to a statement by the Refinery.
“Last month, they gave us six cargoes for Naira and four cargoes for Dollars,” he said.
Despite the improvement, Mr Dangote noted that the supply remains below the 19 cargoes required for optimal operations, with the refinery continuing to bridge the gap through imports from the United States and other African producers.
He also expressed concern over the unwillingness of international oil companies operating in Nigeria to sell to the refinery, stating that their preference for selling crude to traders forces it to repurchase at higher costs, with broader implications for the economy.
Mr Dangote added that the refinery is seeking increased access to domestically priced crude under local currency arrangements as part of efforts to moderate fuel costs and enhance long-term energy and food security across the continent.
On her part, Mrs Mohammed underscored the strategic importance of Dangote Industries Limited -particularly Dangote Fertiliser Limited—in addressing Africa’s mounting food security challenges, while calling for stronger global partnerships to scale its impact.
Mrs Mohammed said the United Nations would prioritise amplifying scalable solutions capable of mitigating the continent’s food crisis, describing Dangote’s integrated industrial model as a critical pathway.
“I think the UN’s job here is to amplify and to put visibility on the possibilities of mitigating a food security crisis, and this is one of them,” she said. “I hope that when we go back, we can continue to engage partners and countries that should collaborate with Dangote Industries.”
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