Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner-General Githii Mburu has been appointed as the first chairperson of the Africa Initiative.
Africa Initiative is an institution of the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.
The Africa Initiative is a continental programme launched in 2014 by the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the Global Forum), its African members, and various partners.
It aims at unpacking the benefits of tax transparency and exchange of information (EOI) to fight tax evasion and other illicit financial flows (IFFs) and serve African countries’ development.
Speaking when he addressed the Global Forum Virtual Plenary session, Mburu expressed his commitment to champion the adoption of robust tax evasion programmes across Africa.
“While the global community has moved to combat tax evasion and other forms of illicit financial flows (IFFs), the African continent has lagged. For this reason, I commit to actively champion efforts to unlock the potential of tax transparency and Exchange of Information for African countries,” Mburu said.
Following a reorganisation of the Africa Initiative Governance structure, Mburu has been appointed to provide leadership for a one-year term.
His appointment was preceded by the member countries’ ratification of a proposal to extend the Africa Initiative operating term and mandate for a further three-year period beyond December 2020.
Mburu explained that the Africa Initiative comprising of 32 African countries, 11 regional and international partners, will strive to ensure that the member states are equipped to optimise the improvements in global tax transparency.
The Africa Initiative will also foster programmes to tackle tax evasion and other forms of Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs); while mobilising domestic resources to facilitate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as well as the African Union Commission’s Agenda 2063.
Initially launched for a three-year period (2015-2017), the Initiative was renewed in Yaoundé, Cameroon in 2017 for another three years (2018-2020).
It has become the flagship programme of the Global Forum which has inspired other continental programmes across the world.
Through the Africa Initiative, the number of African countries involved in international work on tax transparency has grown.
In 2009, only 4 African countries were members of the Global Forum. Now, Africa is well represented with 32 African countries serving as members of the Global Forum.