15th General Assembly of the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) Held on 18th-20th September 2019 Bijilo The Gambia

The West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) held its 15^th General Assembly (GA) from 18^th – 20^th September, 2019, in Bijilo, The Gambia. The theme of the meeting was “Setting an Agenda for Effective Domestic Revenue Mobilisation in West Africa”.

Part of the meeting was a two (2) day High Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) on Domestic Revenue Mobilisation (DRM) that brought together experts from tax administrations, Ministries of Finance/Planning, Civil Society Organisations, Academia and other stakeholders in the economic landscape of West Africa and beyond.

The HLPD intended to jointly develop a DRM strategy framework for West Africa while drawing reference to DRM in the African Union Agenda 2063 under Aspiration 7 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 17.

The attendees clearly underlined the desire to leverage shared experiences to have a DRM strategy that is home-grown. In this respect, the meeting discussed various aspects and options relevant for DRM. Other pertinent issues of DRM discussed at the dialogues included the roles of the legislature and private sector; addressing wealth inequality; and, critical steps required to develop a model DRM strategy which may be rolled out in ECOWAS countries. Participants were actively engaged in this historic event and resolved to build on their synergies to jointly design a DRM strategy.

Presemtations: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BpaH1tFEL3VE1saOr30rseXuUxLsRC9r?usp=sharing

Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1J1m_T-Xy4d4JA_BoBgiESAbEXN5cvA-2?usp=sharing