ATAF contributed to the Africa Regional Consultation on the Operationalisation of the Sevilla Commitments on Financing for Development, held at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Co-hosted by UNECA and the African Union Commission (AUC), the consultation brought together African governments, regional institutions and development partners to consider how the commitments emerging from the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) can be translated into concrete action across the continent.
For ATAF, the discussions provided an important opportunity to reinforce the central role of effective tax administration in expanding Africa’s fiscal space and mobilising the domestic resources required to finance the continent’s development priorities.
Putting Domestic Resource Mobilisation at the Centre of Implementation
Ms Leila Kituyi, ATAF’s Head of Strategic Partnerships and International Cooperation, moderated the parallel session on Domestic and International Public Resource Mobilisation and participated as a panellist during the Action Plan and Way Forward session.
The discussions examined measures to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation across Africa, including stronger tax policy, more effective tax administration, digital transformation, international tax cooperation, and better coordination among governments, regional institutions, and development partners.
During her intervention, Ms Kituyi emphasised that delivering on the Sevilla Commitments will depend on countries having the institutional capacity to translate policy commitments into practical reforms.
“Effective tax administration is fundamental to delivering the Financing for Development Sevilla Commitments. Achieving stronger domestic resource mobilisation requires more than policy commitments—it demands modern, capable and digitally enabled tax administrations that can implement reforms, improve compliance, enhance taxpayer services, leverage data and technology, and mobilise sustainable revenues to finance Africa’s development priorities.”
This focus on implementation is particularly important as African countries seek to strengthen their capacity to finance development priorities sustainably while responding to increasingly complex domestic and international tax environments.
Translating Commitments into Practical Reform
ATAF continues to work alongside its member countries to strengthen the institutional and technical capabilities required to turn domestic resource mobilisation ambitions into tangible results.
Through technical assistance, institutional capacity development, peer learning and practical implementation support, ATAF assists member administrations in strengthening their tax systems and responding to emerging challenges.
A key part of this effort is the Revenue Action for Development in Africa (RADA) programme. Endorsed by ATAF Member States, RADA supports African tax administrations in accelerating reforms and strengthening their capacity to mobilise sustainable domestic revenues.
Through RADA, ATAF is supporting tax administrations to accelerate digital transformation, strengthen data-driven tax administration, leverage emerging technologies, and develop more resilient, future-ready revenue institutions.
The programme provides an important mechanism to translate the ambitions of the Sevilla Commitments into practical reforms at country level, ensuring that global financing commitments connect to the operational realities and priorities of African tax administrations.
Advancing an African Implementation Agenda
The Africa Regional Consultation also underscored the importance of coordination between governments, continental and regional institutions, and development partners as countries move from global commitments towards implementation.
For ATAF, this means ensuring that tax administration remains firmly embedded within Africa’s broader Financing for Development agenda and that African countries have access to the technical expertise, institutional support and cooperation required to implement sustainable reforms.
