Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA) will participate in the 8th West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD), taking place from 15–19 September 2026 in Accra, Ghana.
TJNA will bring a civil society perspective to discussions on strengthening domestic resource mobilisation, building taxpayer trust, and creating fair, transparent, and inclusive tax systems. It will also showcase its work on health taxes as a tool for domestic resource mobilisation and sustainable development.
The dialogue, which also marks WATAF’s 15th anniversary, will be held under the theme “Building Stronger Tax Administrations for Revenue Mobilisation and Sustainable Development.” The event will bring together tax commissioner-generals, policymakers, development partners, academia, private sector representatives, civil society organisations and international tax experts to reflect on the evolution of tax administration in West Africa and explore approaches to strengthening domestic resource mobilisation and sustainable development.
The dialogue comes at a critical time for African countries as governments face increasing fiscal pressures, declining external development assistance, growing demands for public services, and the need to strengthen domestic sources of financing. WATAF has long championed stronger, more resilient and effective tax administrations, deeper regional cooperation and improved domestic revenue mobilisation as essential to reducing dependence on external financing and creating sustainable fiscal space for critical sectors, including healthcare, education and infrastructure.
Discussions at the HLPD will examine a range of issues shaping the future of tax administration in West Africa, including digital transformation, expanding the tax base, international tax cooperation, illicit financial flows, taxation of the digital economy, environmental taxation, and the role of tax policy and administration in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
TJNA at the WATAF High-Level Policy Dialogue
TJNA will contribute to the dialogue through Everlyn Muendo, Senior Policy Officer – Tax & International Financial Architecture, who will serve as a panelist in Panel 3: Strengthening Domestic Resource Mobilisation through Partnerships and Inclusive Tax Systems. The panel, under the sub-theme “Building Trust and Expanding the Tax Base for Sustainable Development,” will explore approaches to strengthening stakeholder engagement, taxpayer trust, and inclusive tax systems. It will also examine how partnerships among governments, taxpayers, businesses, civil society organisations and development partners can contribute to a fair, transparent and accountable tax environment.
Panel 3 session details
Title: Strengthening Domestic Resource Mobilisation through Partnerships and Inclusive Tax Systems.
Date:Friday, 18 September
Time: 9:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m. GMT
Presenter: Everlyn Muendo, Senior Policy Officer - Tax & International Financial Architecture
Partner Spotlight Session
As part of the dialogue, TJNA’s Tax and Health Unit will host a Spotlight Session on health taxes as a tool for mobilising resources to support health financing and development in Africa. The session will highlight the role of health taxes in advancing public health outcomes while contributing to domestic resource mobilisation and showcasing evidence, analytical tools, and practical experiences that can support policy development and advocacy.
One of the tools featured will be the Tobacco Tax Simulation Model (TETSiM), which TJNA has used to generate evidence on the potential fiscal and public health effects of different tobacco excise tax policy options. TETSiM estimates outcomes such as changes in tobacco consumption, government revenue, health benefits and healthcare cost savings under different tax rate and tax structure, providing policymakers with robust evidence to inform the design and implementation of effective health tax reforms.
Session details
Date: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Time: 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. GMT
Presenter: John Thomi, Policy Officer, Tax and Health
TJNA’s participation at the WATAF High-Level Policy Dialogue reflects its continued commitment to advancing tax systems that enable African countries to mobilise and retain the resources needed to finance development.
For more information about TJNA’s participation at the WATAF High-Level Policy Dialogue, please contact tthomi[@]taxjusticeafrica.net
