USA Africa Dialogue Series - ACCRA DECLARATION :SUPPORTING NEW BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP TRANSPARENCY CHAMPIONS IN GHANA,KENYA AND NIGERIA

​Accra Declaration / February 3, 2017

​

Supporting new Beneficial Ownership Transparency Champions in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria

​

1.      ​

From 2 – 3 February 2017, representatives of government bodies, civil society, the private sector and media from Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria came together in a workshop on Supporting New Beneficial Ownership Transparency Champions in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria. They were joined by approximately ten international experts who shared their expertise on relevant issues such as beneficial ownership registers, extractives, open data, open contracting and procurement, tax and illicit financial flows. 

​

​2.      ​

The two-day workshop was convened in Accra by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Transparency International (TI) Secretariat, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Nigeria and Transparency International (Kenya) with funding from the UK Department for International Development (DFID). 

​3.    ​

Opened officially by His Excellency, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of Ghana,  the workshop was held within the framework of a Transparency International project aimed at supporting the realization of commitments made by the governments of Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria at the UK Anti-Corruption Summit in May 2016 on establishing public beneficial ownership registers

​4.     ​

Participants discussed the extent of the challenges posed to Africa by non-disclosure of Beneficial Ownership Information of companies and heard that; 

Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and different parts of the world are making efforts towards establishing a legal system that collects and publishes crucial corporate information:

5.     ​

Following the various presentations and discussions, participants recommended that: 

​A. ​

Entities doing business (including financial institutions, Real Estate Developers and Professional Bodies) commit to an increased  transparency and business integrity by unveiling their Beneficial Owners; 

​B.​  

African countries strengthen the capacity of their institutions, particularly financial institutions, revenue authorities and other public sector organizations responsible for the different levels of negotiations in the extractive sector and in public procurement to ensure there are clear plans to manage corruption, tax avoidance, tax evasion and other financial abuse risks

​.

C. ​ 

The various African countries translate commitments made at the UK Anti-Corruption Summit into real actions by first passing a legislative framework for beneficial ownership disclosure and further take steps towards actual implementation.

​D.​  

Having collected the Beneficial Ownership Information, make the information available and easily accessible to citizens of our respective countries in an open data format while ensuring the security and safety of beneficial owners are not compromised

​.

E.   ​

The participants  also urged their respective government entities charged with the responsibility to managing the register to keep Beneficial Ownership information current; 

​F.  ​

The African Union Commission expeditiously develop a road map and action points for the implementation of the key recommendations of the High Level panel on Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) from Africa.

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6.    ​

Finally, participants agreed to continue collaborating in strong partnership and in coalition with each other towards the realisation of the above mentioned commitments made by the governments of Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria. 

Signed by:

1. Linda Ofori-Kwafo 

Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII)

​2.    ​

Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) 

Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) / TI - Nigeria

​3.    ​

Elizabeth Munyef

​

u​

Transparency International (TI) Kenya

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