West Africa: Building Resilience Against Terrorism Finance
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Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
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The Sahel region in West Africa is highly vulnerable to the threat of terrorism due to the presence of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and the Al Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat Al Islam Wal Muslimin (JNIM). These terrorist groups are able to capitalize on porous borders and weak financial supervision to raise funds to implement their agenda.
To address this challenge, FSVC has partnered in a multi-year United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) program in January 2021 to strengthen anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) efforts in West Africa. This program will identify key vulnerabilities in the detection, investigation, disruption and prosecution of terrorism financing in several West African countries. FSVC and UNODC will also provide technical assistance to strengthen domestic coordination among relevant authorities, and to increase the effectiveness of regional AML/CFT cooperation and information sharing.
As part of this program, FSVC is reviewing the regulatory framework surrounding the supervision of designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) in Burkina Faso, and will provide recommendations to strengthen it. A strong supervisory framework is critical to ensuring that legitimate DNFBPs can safely operate, while protecting the sector from terrorist abuse.
This program is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism (CT).
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Lesotho: Strengthening the Budget Process
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In Lesotho, public participation in government budget decisions has been significantly low, according to the 2019 Open Budget Survey (OBS). The budget is not aligned with national priorities, and budget processes are not adequately documented. Furthermore, there is high turnover in the Ministry of Finance’s (MoF) Budget Department, resulting in limited technical capacity in economic analysis and reporting.
To strengthen the budget process in Lesotho, in July, FSVC conducted in-person consultations with the MoF to evaluate the current budget process, identify weaknesses, and provide recommendations to strengthen transparency and effectiveness in budget planning, implementation and oversight. The FSVC experts also met with several line ministries, departments and agencies, civil society organizations and international partners working on public financial management. These consultations helped identify opportunities for greater collaboration and engagement amongst relevant public and private stakeholders.
As a result of these consultations, the MoF has an action plan covering key areas to be strengthened in the budget process. In addition, several members of the MoF’s Budget Department met with a representative from the Lesotho Council of NGOs (LCN) for the first time and learned how they can work together during the budget formulation process.
This project was organized with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
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FSVC/KAS Webinar: Regional Perspectives on
Covid Economic Recovery Programs
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From left to right: Sabine Lautenschläger, FSVC Board Member; Alastair Fitzpayne, Senior Fellow and Advisor, Aspen Institute; Syaru Shirley Lin, Compton Visiting Professor in World Politics, University of Virginia, and Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
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On July 15, FSVC and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) co-hosted a webinar focused on comparing the different economic recovery programs launched by the European Union (EU), the United States and Asian countries to restart their economic engines after COVID-19. The speakers were Sabine Lautenschläger, Alastair Fitzpayne and Syaru Shirley Lin, who respectively gave an overview of the EU, U.S. and Asian economic recovery programs.
The discussions identified similarities between the economic recovery programs, while also highlighting differences in priorities, reflecting underlying social and economic issues. The EU programs have prioritized climate change and the need for economic growth, while the United States have prioritized creating “good jobs,” reducing income inequality and returning to full-time employment. Although there have been differences between the EU and U.S. strategies, their plans have been very similar when compared with the Asian recovery. In the Asia Pacific region, low vaccination rates and a new wave of infections have crippled the beginnings of economic recovery, and the outlook has been remarkably less positive. The region is more than 20% behind in vaccine administration compared to the U.S. and EU. Even in countries with greater access to vaccines like Japan, vaccine skepticism remains high.
The EU and the United States share similar goals with regard to getting as many people vaccinated globally as possible. The webinar underscored the importance of increased global cooperation, including around vaccination efforts, and of making recovery initiatives part of a broader strategy to tackle longer-term challenges.
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Democratic Republic of the Congo: Launch of a
Program to Combat Corruption
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Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
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The DRC is rich in natural resources, ranging from copper, cobalt and zinc to diamonds, gold and more. However, the sector suffers from a lack of transparency and accountability. One consequence has been that many Congolese citizens see little benefit from the exploitation of natural resources. The DRC has faced political upheavals, endemic corruption, active conflicts and porous borders. A new administration elected in 2019 has made combating corruption a priority for the country.
In this context, FSVC will provide technical assistance to the Financial Intelligence Unit and the newly created Anti-Corruption Commission (APLC) to combat money laundering, financial crimes and corruption. FSVC will assist these two institutions in operationalizing their work and coordinating their action to better identify, investigate and prosecute cases of money laundering and corruption.
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About Us
The Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC) is a not-for-profit organization that helps strengthen financial sectors in developing and emerging market countries. It does so with the ultimate aim of promoting job creation, economic growth and a better quality of life. FSVC structures practical, results-oriented technical assistance and training missions staffed by senior financial sector professionals who serve as unpaid volunteer experts. Over the past 31 years, more than 10,000 volunteer experts from the international financial, legal and regulatory communities have taken part in 3,200 missions, impacting millions of people in 65 countries.
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