Kikuyu Elders Claim Religious Leaders Have Usurped Rites Of PassageTax stakeholders to meet in Ghana over domestic resource mobilisation and illicit financial flows in Africa
A row is brewing between religious leaders and some cultural elders in Central Kenya over circumcision of young boys in the region.
The Kikuyu elders popularly known as Kiama Kia ma say the church has taken over the role of presiding over the rite of passage that has always been a preserve of the elders.
Led by Ng’ang’a wa Kiarie, the Thika Sub County Kiama kia ma Chairman, the elders said the church had overstepped its mandate and told them to stick to the pulpit and continue offering spiritual nourishment.
Kiarie said circumcision matters being a cultural issue has always been a preserve of the elders.
He was speaking at Thika during a ceremony where over 500 boys transited from childhood to manhood.
‘Pastors should desist from performing cultural rituals and concentrate on spiritual matters. Circumcision has been a strict cultural issue over the years that is fully understood by elders, ‘ said Kiarie.
Njuguna Musembi, another elder said circumcision is a sacred stage in the boy’s life and is compuls
ory in the Kikuyu culture.
Some of the young initiates who went through the cut in Thika, Kiambu County on Saturday November 18, 2023.
‘These rites demand meticulous and detailed observation that can only be Under the watch of elders. The church should stop being greedy for money and focus on spiritual matters,’ he said.
Kiambu Deputy Speaker John Njiru called on the government to investigate incidences where some elders have been misleading the young boys to engage in illicit sex, drug and alcoholism after transiting into manhood.
Recently, there were allegations from section of female sex workers in Thika town that some elders would link them to the young boys for sex to transit them into manhood.
‘We have good elders who have stuck to the good cultural practices of advising the teenage initiates to desist from alcohol, drugs and other indiscipline. We also have very dangerous ones and they will soon face the law’, said Njiru, who is also the Hospital Ward MCA.
Source: Kenya News Agency
Key stakeholders in Africa’s tax sector are set to meet in Ghana to unpack domestic resource mobilisation and illicit financial flows issues in Africa.
The 11th Pan-African Conference on Illicit Financial Flows and Taxation (PAC) conference provides a platform for tax stakeholders to explore ways in which African countries can take the lead on international conversations that are beginning to have direct implications on domestic resource mobilisation and illicit financial flows.
According to a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra the conference is organised by Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA) and The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF and would bring together officials working on tax issues from Pan-African Organizations, tax administrations, ministries of Finance, civil society organisations, parliamentarians, and academia/researchers from Africa and beyond, on the theme ‘Making Global Tax Governance Work for Africa.
The conference is a platform that will enable the attendees to contri
bute to the development of a common African position on key international conversations that affect African countries’ efforts to raise domestic resources.
It is also a platform to identify actions and solutions for actors such as African governments, parliamentarians, civil society organisations, the private sector and other policy players that are key in mobilising domestic resources within the context and will present the opportunity to grow partnerships and collaborations between the different actors.
‘To meet its development aspirations, Africa will need additional resources to respond to global crises and to realign with the priorities of both the SDGs and Agenda 2063’. According to Africa Economic Outlook 2022, the continent’s additional financial needs for 2020-2022 were estimated at USD 432 billion. Africa’s Annual Sustainable Development Goals financing gap is around USD 190 billion (African Union 2023). This gap can be bridged by developing regional value chains, improving equitable and fair entr
y to accessible markets through intra-Africa trade and revenue mobilisation through effective and inclusive tax collection and combatting IFFs.
PAC 2023 explores the aspect of forging partnerships and collaborations to promote and mobilise action amongst tax sector players.
Strengthening these alliances is essential for African countries to take the lead on international conversations on domestic resource mobilisation and illicit financial flows in the continent.
Source: Ghana News Agency