NAIROBI, KENYA — Annual cash transfers amounting up to US$17 billion by Africans in the diaspora have prompted calls from experts for a better approach in handling of the remittances.
The amount is almost equivalent to the combined annual expenditure of three East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, whose total budget obligation for this financial year is about $18.2 billion.
A survey conducted by the African Development Bank (AfDB) also shows that the bill accounts for 750% of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) for some countries.
The AfDB President, Dr. Donald Kaberuka has now called for a more efficient system to facilitate such remittances from the Africans in diaspora.
High transfer costs are said to be the main hindrance to the remittances with an average of between 5 percent and 15 percent, depending on industry players and money transfer trends.
Dr. Kaberuka told a meeting on the replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF), AfDB’s concessional window in Mali last week that the Bank would assist African countries to channel these transfers from the diaspora.
“What needs to be done now is to engage the Diaspora in the development of its country, by lifting the constraints that impede these remittances, which constitute a huge supplement to funds provided by donors,” Kaberuka said.
The study says remittances by the African Diaspora range from about US$14 to 17 billion each year.
“In Mali’s case, for instance, with 3.5 million of its 4 million expatriate nationals living in Africa, remittances from the Malian Diaspora in France made through official channels amounts to 120 billion CFA francs, which is comparable to the development aid for Mali,” Kaberuka said.
Other countries, such as Morocco, Senegal or the Comoros Islands, Diaspora remittances account for 750%, 218% and 346% of the official development assistance respectively, reveals the AfDB study.
Kaberuka, now in East Africa to promote the aid for trade campaign for Africa, has also called on the international community to increase its support to African countries, with special emphasis on regional integration and post-conflict countries.
