ADDIS ABABA – Strengthening transparency in Africa’s natural resource sector is key to tackling illicit financial flows, illegal natural resource trade, and resource-backed lending, the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has emphasized.
The Bank has concluded the Chad leg of its GONAT initiative training and policy dialogue titled “Unlocking Africa’s Wealth: Curbing Illicit Financial Flows for Resilient Growth and Development.”
The program is part of the Governance of Natural Resources in Transition and Fragile States (GONAT) initiative, which supports fragile and transitioning countries in improving natural resource governance.
At the closing session, AfDB’s African Natural Resources Management and Investment Centre Director Solomane Koné stressed that improving governance and transparency is essential for reforming the design, monitoring, and implementation of illicit financial flows (IFFs), illegal natural resource trade, and resource-backed lending in Africa.
“The GONAT initiative is helping address these issues and ensuring that Africa harnesses its natural wealth for resilient growth and development,” Koné said.
He added that natural resource governance requires coordinated, data-informed action grounded in local contexts. “Through initiatives like GONAT, we aim to equip countries with the tools and partnerships needed to build resilient, accountable systems.”
IFFs are a major development barrier for Africa, draining nearly 90 billion USD annually, according to the Bank’s African Economic Outlook. “Illicit financial flows are one of the major obstacles to development in Africa,” AFDB’s African Development Institute Director Eric Ogunleye said.
Jointly organized by the African Development Institute (ADI) and the African Natural Resources Management and Investment Centre (ECNR), the workshop included technical sessions, case studies, group work, and policy dialogue. Since its 2023 launch, GONAT has conducted diagnostic studies, developed training materials, and now hosts in-country trainings and dialogues to strengthen countries’ capacity in managing IFFs and resource-backed lending.
Following earlier sessions in Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic, Chad became the third country to host the initiative. Upcoming sessions are planned for the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique in August.
AfDB noted that IFFs continue to cost the continent billions, hindering its ability to fund critical infrastructure and social services. Chad, like many other nations, faces similar challenges.
“The workshop enhanced our understanding of illicit financial flows and underscored the need for an inclusive approach. Achieving sustainable and equitable development requires the meaningful involvement of women at all levels of natural resource governance,” Chad’s Ministry of Environment Field Officer Nguema Nakoye Mannta said.
Key recommendations from the workshop included reforming mining laws and institutions, enhancing transparency in extractive activities, integrating research into policymaking, building technical capacity, and establishing multi-stakeholder commissions to audit resource flows and coordinate action.
GONAT currently operates in Chad, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe, focusing on improving governance across sectors such as oil, gas, minerals, forestry, fisheries, and wildlife.
Fragile States (GONAT) initiative, which supports fragile and transitioning countries in improving natural resource governance.
At the closing session, AfDB’s African Natural Resources Management and Investment Centre Director Solomane Koné stressed that improving governance and transparency is essential for reforming the design, monitoring, and implementation of illicit financial flows (IFFs), illegal natural resource trade, and resource-backed lending in Africa.
“The GONAT initiative is helping address these issues and ensuring that Africa harnesses its natural wealth for resilient growth and development,” Koné said.
He added that natural resource governance requires coordinated, data-informed action grounded in local contexts. “Through initiatives like GONAT, we aim to equip countries with the tools and partnerships needed to build resilient, accountable systems.”
IFFs are a major development barrier for Africa, draining nearly 90 billion USD annually, according to the Bank’s African Economic Outlook. “Illicit financial flows are one of the major obstacles to development in Africa,” AFDB’s African Development Institute Director Eric Ogunleye said.
Jointly organized by the African Development Institute (ADI) and the African Natural Resources Management and Investment Centre (ECNR), the workshop included technical sessions, case studies, group work, and policy dialogue. Since its 2023 launch, GONAT has conducted diagnostic studies, developed training materials, and now hosts in-country trainings and dialogues to strengthen countries’ capacity in managing IFFs and resource-backed lending.
Following earlier sessions in Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic, Chad became the third country to host the initiative. Upcoming sessions are planned for the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique in August.
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AfDB noted that IFFs continue to cost the continent billions, hindering its ability to fund critical infrastructure and social services. Chad, like many other nations, faces similar challenges.
“The workshop enhanced our understanding of illicit financial flows and underscored the need for an inclusive approach. Achieving sustainable and equitable development requires the meaningful involvement of women at all levels of natural resource governance,” Chad’s Ministry of Environment Field Officer Nguema Nakoye Mannta said.
Key recommendations from the workshop included reforming mining laws and institutions, enhancing transparency in extractive activities, integrating research into policymaking, building technical capacity, and establishing multi-stakeholder commissions to audit resource flows and coordinate action.
GONAT currently operates in Chad, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe, focusing on improving governance across sectors such as oil, gas, minerals, forestry, fisheries, and wildlife.
BY YOHANES JEMANEH
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 7 AUGUST 2025
