The anti-poverty charity Oxfam stated in a report released on Thursday that Africa’s four wealthiest individuals possess more assets than approximately half of the continent’s 750 million inhabitants. The report warned that this widening inequality is actively hindering democratic progress. Oxfam specifically named only Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, the continent’s richest man, in its publication.
However, according to Forbes, the top four richest Africans also include South Africans Johann Rupert and Nicky Oppenheimer, along with Egyptian businessman Nassef Sawiris. Over the past five years, African billionaires have witnessed a remarkable 56% surge in their wealth, with the most affluent among them experiencing even greater gains, Oxfam highlighted. Nearly half of the world’s 50 most unequal countries are also located on the African continent, the report revealed.
Oxfam contended that existing government policies are biased against the poor and create loopholes that enable the continent’s super-rich to accumulate even more wealth. “Most African countries are not fully leveraging progressive taxation to effectively tax the super-rich and address inequality,” the report stated. Nevertheless, it also attributed escalating inequality to “regressive” International Monetary Fund policies and illicit financial flows — notably the practice of utilizing tax havens to conceal wealth abroad.
The NGO asserted that inequality impedes democracy, obstructs poverty reduction efforts, and exacerbates the climate crisis. It specifically pointed to “political capture” by the wealthy as undermining “pro-poor government policies and the effectiveness of public institutions.” For instance, in Nigeria, Africa’s largest democracy, individuals seeking political office are often deterred by the exorbitant fees demanded by political parties, effectively pricing them out of running. Concurrently, vote-buying is rampant in a country where tens of millions of people live in desperate poverty.
Despite these critical issues, Oxfam noted that since 2022, nearly nine out of ten African countries have reversed policies on taxation, labor rights, and minimum wages, which the charity deems essential for tackling inequality.
Oxfam recommended a comprehensive overhaul of tax administrations across the continent. It highlighted that Africa’s current tax systems are nearly three times less effective at redistributing income from the richest one percent compared to the global average. Additionally, the continent loses an estimated $88.6 billion annually through illicit financial flows. A review of tax systems in 151 countries found that “Africa was the only region in which countries have not increased effective tax rates since 1980,” the charity concluded.
