African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) High-Level Policy Dialogue on “Financing Development Through Effective Tax Systems” opened Tuesday (Sept 16) in Freetown with emphatic calls for governments to deliberately invest in their national revenue authorities as the surest path to financing sustainable development.
Speakers at the opening ceremony stressed that with Official Development Assistance (ODA) rapidly shrinking and national development demands skyrocketing, governments must look inward and mobilize domestic resources. They argued that investing in revenue authorities remains the most efficient and sustainable path to achieving this goal.
Chairperson Sets the Tone
In her opening remark, the Chair of the WATAF Council, Talato Eliane Djiguemde-Ouedraogo, who also serves as Director General of the Revenue Authority of Burkina Faso, asserted that the dialogue comes at a critical time for the West African region, “as we work to align tax systems with Vision 2050, Agenda 2063, and the Sustainable Development Goals.”
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According to her, working on a united front, West Africa has the power to unlock billions in revenue for the future and shape the path of sustainable development on the continent. Tax administrations of the region, she added, “operate in a complex environment, but with political will, institutional commitment, and private sector trust, we can transform the future.”
Tapsoba Highlights Strategic Direction
WATAF Executive Secretary, Mr. Jules Tapsoba, urged participants to approach the dialogue with openness, collaboration, and determination to craft concrete strategies. He noted that tax administrations operate in a complex environment marked by economic, security, political, and capacity challenges, but emphasized that WATAF is boldly responding through its 2026-2030 Strategic Plan, which redefines the forum’s vision, mission, and role. “This new plan,” he said, “prioritizes urgent progress in digital taxation, e-commerce, and tax compliance, moving WATAF from knowledge-sharing to practical technical support.” He affirmed that with collective resolve, the dialogue can lay a solid foundation for stronger and more resilient tax systems across West Africa.
Vice President Calls for Reform
Sierra Leone’s Vice President, Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, also, underscored the critical timing of the forum, describing it as a crucial platform to address widening fiscal gaps in low-income economies across the region, and called for a decisive path to grow revenues.
He pointed to expanding the tax base, reducing leakages, and improving the governance of tax administration as key actions required to change the narrative.
He further linked robust tax systems to broader economic reforms, stating, “You can only develop revenue in a country where there are efforts to improve the ease of doing business, making your country competitive, to attract foreign direct investment.”
Liberia Pushes for Investment in Revenue Authorities
Commissioner Generals of the Liberian and Gambian revenue authorities were among the united voices urging policymakers to prioritize revenue administrations as engines of growth.
Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) Commissioner General James Dorbor Jallah made a passionate case for adequate resourcing of revenue authorities in the region, arguing that research has proven that every dollar invested in a revenue authority yields thirty-fold returns.
“The evidence is compelling,” CG Jallah noted. “… Every single dollar invested in a revenue authority; there is at least a 30-times multiplier effect in revenue…. If we are to meet our development ambitions, we must now rely primarily on domestic revenue. And to succeed, our governments must treat revenue authorities as critical investments. Every dollar injected into the tax system returns thirty dollars in value. What government would not want that?”
Back in Liberia, CG Jallah has persistently called for increased support to the LRA, noting that the Authority can reach one billion dollars in revenue within a year if it gets the needed budgetary support to strategically invest in automation, IT infrastructure, and human capital.
He emphasized that Africa’s challenge is not a lack of wealth, but the failure to mobilize and manage it. “Official Development Assistance is drying up. We now need to look within and find resources. With the right support to our tax systems, we can unlock our true potential and finance our own development,” he added.
Gambia Shares a Success Story
Sharing a practical success story, Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner General Yankuba Darboe explained how a government policy granting the Authority 4.5 percent of the revenue it collects has transformed the institution’s capacity.
“That arrangement enabled us to modernize our systems, build staff capacity, and digitize our operations,” Mr. Darboe said. He revealed that before 2018, when the decision was taken, annual revenue collection in The Gambia was around US$500,000. “Today, with consistent government support, we are raising billions,” Darboe said.
He added that no tax administration can survive without a strong and supportive relationship with its government, stressing that entrenched interests and reform resistance can only be overcome with political will and partnership with Finance Ministries.
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“From my own experience, I share this passionate appeal: No country can develop forever dependent on external loans and grants,” he stressed. “It is high time that countries start looking inward to mobilize their own revenues. When we have our own money, it is our money, and we can spend it as we see fit without external conditions.”
He called for empowering revenue authorities to drive domestic resource mobilization, digitalization, and capacity building. “We must empower our revenue authorities to get the money. The resources are within our reach; we can mobilize them if we are empowered.”
Darboe further urged other governments to adopt the Gambian model that empowers revenue authorities to become self-sustaining and more effective.
Unified Message from Freetown
Held under the auspices of WATAF and hosted by the National Revenue Authority (NRA) of Sierra Leone in Freetown, the Dialogue is pulling together ideas and innovative strategies to strengthen the mobilization of domestic resources to power national and regional development, as external resources dry up.
There is a unified message from Freetown: governments must deliberately invest in revenue authorities if West Africa is to create the fiscal space for infrastructure, social services, and sustainable development.
