Moving Beyond Aid—Revenue Mobilization G20 Compact with Africa

4-5 April 2018 Accra, Ghana

Stepping up domestic revenue mobilization (DRM) could help Compact with Africa (CWA) countries overcome aid dependence, ease financing constraints, and enhance growth prospects—all key elements to achieve prosperity without jeopardizing debt sustainability. The Initiative aims to attract private investment to CWA countries by ensuring macroeconomic stability and supporting the business environment. Investment-friendly tax systems could help maintain fiscal discipline, while providing adequate financing for governments’ development needs.

Senior government officials from the Ministries of Finance of CWA countries convened in a conference organized by the Government of Ghana in conjunction with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) to learn and share experiences on how to address the current challenges of domestic revenue mobilization. CWA countries represented were Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana (host), Guinea, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia. Representatives from the World Bank, the IMF, Germany and a host of development partners supporting the DRM efforts in CWA countries, as well as key civil society organisations on the continent and the private sector were also in attendance.

The conference focused on domestic resource mobilization (DRM), a key element of the first component of the CWA program, namely macroeconomic management. The discussion covered a number of key issues, including the institutional and political constraints in revenue mobilization, improving tax compliance, and alleviating base erosion and profit shifting by multinational companies. It also focused on common DRM challenges and proposed short- and medium-term growth friendly, revenue enhancing solutions. The conference essentially provided a platform for knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning for all participants.

Download the full report from the event here: