20 JCAM 2021 Annual Review JENA A PRACTICAL SIDE TO JENA ADVOCACY: ASSISTING ZIMBABWEAN PARLIAMENT IN COMBATTING ILLICIT FINANCIAL FLOWS Fernando C. Saldivar, SJ - JENA, Global Policy and Advocacy For the Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network Africa (JENA) some insight into avenues for legislative reform. As with so 2021 has been a time of transition, learning how to adapt many other problems facing countries throughout the our work to this new reality. How, in a world with strict Global South, IFFs have been magnified by the economic travel restrictions and little opportunity for in-person disruptions wrought by the pandemic. This invitation to contact, do you live out your mission of advocacy on behalf speak to Zimbabwean MPs arose out of just such an of a just, poverty-free, peaceful, and ecologically understanding that addressing IFFs cannot wait until some regenerative Africa? For JENA that has meant increasing unspecified time in the future when COVID is no longer our online presence and participating in many more with us. webinars and digital fora than in years past. It has also IFF is an umbrella term for a broad group of cross-border meant not waiting anxiously for a COVID-free world before economic and financial transactions. At their most basic, hitting the road again but grabbing each opportunity to IFFs are often defined as money that is illegally earned, physically meet people where they are at. transferred, or used that crosses borders. Tax evasion and One such opportunity came in May when JENA, in avoidance, corruption, smuggling, trade mis-invoicing, and collaboration with Silveira House in Zimbabwe was invited drug trafficking are among the varied practices that fall to give a day-long presentation in Harare to members of the under the IFF umbrella. IFFs are of concern to governments Zimbabwe Parliament on illicit financial flows (IFFs). Fr. all around the world because they represent a tremendous Charles Chilufya, S.J. and Fernando Saldivar, S.J. were asked source of lost revenue that could otherwise go towards by Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance public services. For developing countries, IFFs hinder and Economic Development to train MPs on the problem of efforts at poverty reduction and have a serious impact on IFFs on both a global and national level, as well as to give sustainable development projects.