News & Highlights

Wilton Park Conference S10/01
ENHANCING DOMESTIC RESOURCE MOBILISATION
IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Tuesday 27 - Friday 30 April 2010

in co-operation with The North-South Institute
and with support from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The research project presented detailed case studies on Burundi, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda. In addition, presentations addressed a wide range of relevant issues including overviews on domestic resource mobilisation in the wider continent; the role of the donor community; effective natural resource taxation; state-building and tax policy in theory and practice and financial sector development.

From Left: Anthony Tsekpo, Senior Budget Expert, Parliamentary Centre, Accra, Astère Girukwigomba, Independent Consultant, Bujumbura, Tsegabirhan Abay, Lecturer, School of Economics, Addis Ababa University, John Matovu, Principle Research Fellow, Economic Policy research Centre, Makerere University, Kampala

Nehemiah Osoro, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Dar es Salaam with Edward Sennoga, Economist, African Development Bank, Kampala

This is a specialist field and is likely to play an increasing role in development planning as low income countries both recognize the continuing need for aid and also the advantages of increasing resources generated within the country. Domestic resources have advantages including predictability, increasing independence of aid, greater policy space for determining priorities and increasing opportunities for economic development.

Providing technical assistance on tax systems, revenue collection and the role of revenue agencies has a tangible multiplier effect. This has been calculated by some specialists as in the order of 10:1 for the initial investment, with a continuing revenue stream.

Speakers and other participants included representation from ten Africa countries, the African Development Bank, the IMF, OECD, Council of the European Union, and UNCTAD, as well as specialists - academic, NGO and government - from the North.

Roy Culpeper, President and Chief Executive Officer, The North-South Institute, Ottawa with Attiya Waris, Assistant Lecturer, University of Nairobi Law School

Joseph Ingram, President and CEO Designate, North-South Institute with Max Everest-Phillips, Senior Governance Adviser, Research and Evidence, Department for International Development, London

Mario Mansour, Senior Economist, International Monetary Fund, Washington DC with Frances Hill, Executive Director, Development Studies Association

The programme and further related documents are available here.

Useful Links

On the North-South Institute's project on Domestic Resource Mobilisation in Sub-Saharan Africa, see:
http://www.nsi-ins.ca/english/research/progress/58.asp

On data from the African Development Bank and Africa Partnership Forum see:
http://www.afdb.org/en/topics-sectors/initiatives-partnerships/making-finance-work-for-africa-partnership/

http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/en/ - the 2010 African Economic Outlook will be launched in late May. See this link for latest related materials and the report (free downloadable version) when published

On the African Tax Administration Forum, see: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/52/46/43848887.pdf

For a recent IMF Working paper on related issues, see:
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2009/wp09157.pdf

For a brand new book by IMF specialists and others on the taxation of petroleum and minerals, see:
http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415569217/

Public Resource Mobilisation and Aid report, available online for free

http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/en/in-depth/