Africa at the fiscal crossroads. Will ACOA 2025 in Kigali be a new dawn igniting real change Africa needs or just fade into talk show rhetoric?

By Jean Baptiste Ndabananiye

The grand halls of Kigali are about to certainly echo with some of the most critical conversations that Africa has hosted in years. As the Africa Congress of Accountants—ACOA— 2025 from 6^th to 9^th May 2025 brings together policymakers, economists, financial professionals and visionaries under one roof at the iconic Kigali Convention Center, the continent finds itself at a fiscal crossroads—pulled between the promise of reform and the weight of familiar challenges. Billions of money are continuing to leak. Debt is mounting. And the future, once again, demands a sharper kind of vigilance.

The event is expected to draw over 2,000 delegates from more than 65 countries. This congress is being organized by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Rwanda (ICPAR) in partnership with the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA). This article sets the stage for our coverage of ACOA 2025—not merely capturing the pulse of the summit in Kigali, but situating it within the broader fiscal conversation shaping the continent’s future. As the conference unfolds, our lens will remain firmly on the signals, silences, and shifts that may define Africa’s path forward.

This 8th edition of the congress themed “Creating Value for Africa” promises to serve as a cornerstone for driving positive change and unlocking the continent’s vast potential. But, vision alone doesn’t suffice. As highlighted in the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa—ECA’s 25 November 2025 story “ (Blog) ECA’s pathbreaking work on Public Financial Management: Looking back to move forward”, Africa’s fiscal future hinges on deliberate, systemic transformation. From digital Public Financial Management (PFM) systems to accountability mechanisms, the groundwork has been laid. The question now is whether ACOA 2025 will build on that foundation—or fail to do so. 

A decade-old mandate that  pinpointed a big issue

The ECA’s story is anchored  in a conference that this commission had recently jointly held with the World Bank’s Governance Department on Public Financial Management (PFM) and a capacity-building training workshop on Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Framework (PEFA). The framework constitutes a tool designed to support African countries to reach macroeconomic stability and sustainability.

ECA’s involvement in public financial management stems from a mandate conferred to this organization by the 2010 Conference of African Ministers. Back then, one key question was raised. A decade and a half later, that same question reverberates through the halls of power as far as Africa’s development agenda is concerned—and remains as urgent as ever.

The story reads “The ECA has a long track record of impactful work in this critical area, which was mandated to the organization by the 2010 ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development. The main question posed during this conference was: How can Africa step up its development trajectory? A decade and half later, this question remains central to Africa’s development agenda.

Already in 2010, the Conference recognized that Africa’s investment needs—ranging from infrastructure to climate change adaptation—are immense. However, these needs are often undermined by significant leakages within the continent’s fiscal systems. These leakages drain vital resources that could otherwise finance essential development initiatives. Illicit financial flows (IFFs), among other issues, are one of the key drivers of these leakages.”

ECA explains that this issue has prompted African policymakers to turn to this commission and the African Union Commission (AUC), to investigate the prevalence of IFFs in Africa and propose actionable solutions. “This has led to significant research and initiatives aimed at addressing the issue. Let us explore the critical aspects of this work and the steps needed to help Africa secure its financial resources for sustainable development.”

The start: the game-changing 2015 report— a wake-up call

All began in 2012 with work which generated what the ECA terms “The Pathbreaking 2015 Report: A Turning Point for African Finance.” The ECA explains “In 2012, the ECA and AUC established a high-level panel, led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, to address illicit financial flows from Africa. After extensive consultations across the continent, the panel released a pathbreaking report in January 2015, endorsed by the Heads of State and Government at the African Union summit.

The report highlighted that Africa was losing approximately $50 billion annually (in 2015 prices) through IFFs, a staggering amount that could have been directed toward achievement of Africa’s development goals.”

With $50 billion annually, Africa could achieve significant advancements across multiple sectors, addressing some of the continent’s most pressing challenges. Universal access to healthcare, improved education and skills development, infrastructure development and energy access, and addressing climate change are some of the spheres. In other words, if this huge amount were invested in any of those fields, it would greatly benefit the continent.

Universal access to healthcare

Various sources estimate  that Africa’s health sector faces a $66 billion funding gap. The $50 billion could cover a substantial portion of this gap, allowing for the construction of healthcare facilities, purchase of medical equipment, and hiring of healthcare professionals. This could help to provide universal health coverage, improving life expectancy and reducing preventable diseases. One of the sources is Health Policy Watch said to conduct independent global health reporting.

In its 15/04/2025 story headlined “Now is Not the Time for Germany to Relinquish its Leadership of Global Health” says “The reality of Africa’s health financing gap is staggering. The continent faces a $66 billion annual health funding shortfall, which has been exacerbated by the recent USAID funding terminations and stop work orders.”

Improved education and skills development

According to the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report 2024 unveiled at the end of the last year, 251M children and youth are still not in school worldwide. “Regional disparities remain stark: 33% of school-aged children and youth in low-income countries are out of school, compared to only 3% in high-income countries. More than half of all out-of-school children and adolescents in the world are in the sub-Saharan African region.”

The $50 billion could fund building schools, improving the quality of education, and providing scholarships or training programs for the youth. This would significantly reduce the education gap and increase the continent’s human capital, fostering long-term economic growth.

Infrastructure development and energy access

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has estimated that the continent requires $130 billion annually for infrastructure development, including roads, electricity, and water supply. In its 1 August 2024 story entitled “African Development Bank invests $20 million in infrastructure fund to catalyze continental development”, it states “Africa’s infrastructure sector remains a significant investment opportunity, driven by substantial demand deficits and a scarcity of capital.

With rapid urbanization and increasing local purchasing power, the continent requires between $130 and $170 billion annually in infrastructure spending. However, there’s currently a substantial yearly financing gap of $68 to $108 billion.” So, with $50 billion, Africa could perform substantial progress on energy access, with the potential to provide renewable energy to millions, build transportation networks, and improve water systems, all of which are vital for economic growth and improving living standards.

Addressing climate change

Africa constitutes one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, yet it contributes the least to global emissions. The $50 billion could fund renewable energy projects, climate adaptation programs, and sustainable agriculture initiatives, helping African nations to transition to green economies and protect vulnerable communities from climate-related disasters.

n short, the $50 billion currently lost annually through illicit financial flows could transform Africa’s healthcare, education, infrastructure, and climate resilience, positioning the continent on a path toward greater prosperity and development.

Factors of the IFFs

The 2015 report discovered various major drivers of illicit financial flows, including (1) weak public finance management systems within African countries, (2) global financial governance architecture that enables tax avoidance, corruption, and financial misreporting, and (3) an ecosystem of enablers— such as multinational corporations, banks, and other financial institutions— that facilitate IFFs from Africa.

“The findings emphasized that addressing these issues would require a global solution. Collaboration between African countries and advanced economies was seen as vital for tackling the systemic issues that allow IFFs to persist.”

Addressing the problem from within and beyond Africa

As the ECA turned its lens both inward and outward, it painted a compelling picture of a continent bleeding resources not just through internal inefficiencies, but also through the gaping wounds inflicted by global financial systems complicit in draining Africa’s wealth.

This commission highlights that it has since been working to carry out recommendations outlined in the 2015 report. It specifies that the approach is twofold: within Africa, by strengthening domestic public finance systems, and globally, by addressing the external factors that enable financial leakages.

“One of the key areas of focus was to examine what African countries can do domestically to enhance domestic resource mobilization and safeguard their financial resources. In its premier Economic Governance Report in 2021, ECA examined the institutional architecture needed to address IFFs from Africa. It focusses on what African countries need to put in place to curb IFFs leakages before they leave Africa’s shores.”

“The report addresses the institutional architecture required to curb leakages through tax avoidance, tax evasion, trade mis-invoicing and illicit enrichment, including corruption. It takes a holistic approach to institutions, an approach that spans legal and regulatory frameworks, formal and informal practices, and organizational structures that act as enablers or curtailers at the national, regional and international levels in the IFFs value chain.”

ECA further says that another “key” area of focus has included examining ways in which African countries lose financial resources through tax expenditures, a mechanism where “governments offer tax incentives, for instance, to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). While FDI is crucial for economic growth, poorly managed tax incentives can lead to substantial revenue losses.”

The  ECA’s2023 report laid bare a jaw-dropping revelation, with countries like Zambia hemorrhaging colossal amounts of their hard-earned revenue through just two tax channels. “In the second edition of the ECA’s Economic Governance Report, published in 2023, a staggering statistic was uncovered: countries like Zambia were losing the equivalent of over 74% of their realized revenue through two tax types — Value Added Tax and Corporate Income Tax.

These losses do not account for the economic growth and jobs that could have been generated, had a more stable and predictable tax system been in place. These findings underscored the need for greater oversight and better governance of tax expenditures in African countries. When these systems fail, they not only hinder domestic resource mobilization but also discourage long-term investment in strategic sectors.”

Securing Africa’s financial future— a holistic and global push 

ECA recommends a holistic global framework for asset recovery, highlighting that in addition to addressing leakages within domestic tax systems, this institution has also focused on the recovery of illicitly moved assets. In its 2023-published report on resources lost from Africa, calling for a holistic, coordinated global legal framework on asset recovery, ECA states “This framework would enable African countries to recover resources stolen or illicitly transferred out of their economies, beyond proceeds of corruption and money laundering. If adopted, it would provide a significant boost to Africa’s depleted fiscal space.”

“A crucial element in this process is international cooperation. Global financial institutions and governments must work together to track, freeze, and return of illicitly transferred assets. Given the scale of illicit financial flows, it is clear that global challenges require global solutions. The ECA’s push for such a framework is part of a broader call for a fairer global financial system that supports developing economies, including those in Africa, to maintain Africa’s financial security.”

Besides tackling IFFs and tax issues, the ECA says that it has been intervening to strengthen Africa’s capital markets. “Many African countries have relatively underdeveloped capital markets, which limits their access to both domestic and international resources. The ECA has been actively supporting member states in strengthening existing capital markets and developing new ones, providing African governments with the tools to tap into private sector financing for their development needs.”

ECA points out that another critical challenge hampering lots of African countries is public debt, “particularly the rising costs associated with servicing debt, increasingly that secured through Eurobonds. Africa’s sovereign debt crisis is partly a result of low credit ratings, which lead to high borrowing costs.”

To address this, the ECA says, it has been collaborating with AUC to establish an African Credit Rating Agency. “Such an agency would aim to improve Africa’s treatment by global credit rating agencies and, in turn, provide African nations with access to more affordable capital for development projects.”

“A critical aspect of Africa’s development strategy is ensuring that national development plans (NDPs) are aligned with the broader African Union Agenda 2063 and the UN’s Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. The ECA has been working to ensure that African governments align their public expenditure to their NDPs and the global and continental goals.”

To accelerate progress toward sustainable development, countries need effective strategies to align planning with financing — and one such strategy is the one that ECA addresses in these words. “One tool to achieve this is the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF), which helps countries assess their development plans and identify the sources of affordable financing. The ECA supports African countries in implementing these frameworks, ensuring that financing is in place to meet development targets, objectives and goals. This approach also allows governments to better monitor progress and make timely adjustments as needed.”

The the ECA emphasizes “Africa’s development challenges are immense, but so are its opportunities. The continent needs up to $1.2 trillion annually to meet the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] and address climate change. Tackling the financial leakages that hinder economic growth is essential if Africa is to secure the resources needed for sustainable development.”

Africa stands at a fiscal crossroads, where visionary collaboration and courageous reforms can unlock the continent’s true economic potential. As winds of change are beginning to ripple through its institutions—carried by the work of the ECA—the time has come to transform promise into progress through bold, homegrown financial leadership. “The work being done by the ECA, in collaboration with the African Union, the global community, and other stakeholders, is a critical step toward addressing Africa’s fiscal challenges.

However, the work does not stop here. African countries themselves must take bold steps to strengthen their public financial management systems, enhance accountability, and ensure that financial resources are effectively utilized for development.”

The ECA adds “As we move forward, it is vital that we continue these discussions, engage in training on public expenditure and financial accountability, and work together to build Africa’s capacity to secure its financial resources and future. Only by doing so can we create the Africa we want—an Africa that is prosperous, resilient, and capable of meeting the aspirations of its people.”

At the crossroads of promise and proof

As Africa finds itself at a fiscal crossroads, ACOA 2025 is regarded as a prestigious event to become more than just a professional gathering—it should be the long-awaited launchpad for meaningful reform, genuine accountability, and transformative economic leadership across the continent. But the gravity of the moment cannot be overstated. The numbers are too dire, the leakages too persistent, and the stakes too high.

The groundwork has been created by years of hard truths and hard-won findings—from the 2015 Mbeki-led report on illicit financial flows to ECA’s unwavering push for robust public financial management systems. We now know what’s bleeding the continent dry. We know the tools to plug the wounds. We know the institutions with the mandates. What remains is bold execution.

And that brings us to the enormous task awaiting ACOA. Africa and its member bodies. Will they champion systems of fiscal integrity that empower local economies? Will they pressure governments to act beyond policy papers and panel discussions? Will they steer the continent away from aid dependency and toward financial sovereignty?

ACOA 2025 in Kigali does not just represent a chance to network or celebrate accounting excellence—it forms an arduous test of Africa’s readiness to lead its own financial future. Will the grand halls of the Kigali Convention Center resound with visionary blueprints followed by concrete action? Or will the congress quietly fade into the echo chamber of well-meaning but hollow rhetoric?

Africa’s fiscal moment has arrived. Now, the question is whether ACOA 2025 will rise to meet it.