Global Alliance for Tax Justice’s week of action to #EndTaxHavens was extended in the African continent, with the launching of national #StopTheBleeding campaign platforms in April, in two countries – Burundi and Zimbabwe.
In Burundi, ICED (Initiative Citoyenne pour l’Environnement et de Développement Durable) and the human rights league Izere Ntiwihebure convened with the Tax Justice Network-Africa team in a seminar and training on April 11th and 12th, with over forty participants: journalists, youth and religious leaders, trade union representatives, members of the Network of African Parliamentarians on Illicit Financial Flows and Taxation and representatives of the various Ministries, Offices and Institutions such as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burundi.
With their motto “Ikori ryacu, iterambere ryacu” (“Our taxes, our development” in Kirundi), participants shared experiences on how to build advocacy messages, how to share them on social media, etc.
Aside from #StopTheBleedingAfrica, they used both Kirundi and French #EndTaxHavens hashtags translations for the campaign launch: #RekaGuhungaImakori and #StopParadisFiscaux.
You can read a press article in local Newspaper Idundi here and seminar organizer Appolinaire Nishirimbere’s wrapup blog here (both in French).
In Zimbabwe, the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) facilitated an awareness raising session on Stop The Bleeding Campaign against Illicit Financial Flows at the National Movement for Catholic Students (NMCS) Easter Conference, which was held in Bulawayo on April 15th. More than 500 students from various learning institutions participated in this event, where the Easter Conference was organised under the theme “Yes We Can”, where key speakers from the Catholic church and civil society encouraged the movement to continue striving to advocate for social justice.
Below are two videos shared by Zimbabwe students during the seminar:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcYJuhBi0Nuq1-oFiBgmvQA?feature=emb_ch_name_ex
