Hon. Ministers and Deputy Ministers from the various African countries,
Hon. Members of Parliament,
Commissioners General of the various African Tax Bodies,
Excellencies, Ambassadors and High Commissioners,
Development partners,
Ladies and gentlemen,
The work we have done over the last three days has been a fine example of the commitment we have shown on the road leading up to Kampala. We have adopted theAfrican Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) Interim Agreement, elected ATAF’s first Council and the host country for its Secretariat. We have adopted resolutions aimed at facilitating ATAF’s continued development; and we have scheduled ATAF’s first Council meeting for March 2010. On Wednesday and Thursday we shared with you the Road to Kampala. Today, I would like to reflect on the Road Beyond Kampala.
Ladies and gentlemen, ATAF is founded on two important and complementary principles:
- Firstly, it has at its core the pursuit of good governance, accountability and state-building as a direct consequence of taxation and
- Secondly, it exists to boost the administrative and technical capacities of its member states.
These two principles together inform what ATAF wants to be: relevant, dynamic and cutting edge, the central platform for African administrators to articulate and develop African tax priorities, policies and best practices, whilst working towards improving the lives of the people of Africa. Yesterday we adopted an ambitious work programme for 2010 and beyond. We have a multitude of collaborative initiatives and technical events planned for the future. With regards to our technical work we have identified a number of areas for engagement in 2010. ATAF will develop focused research products, on an ongoing basis, dealing with areas of particular interest to African tax administrations.
Initially, it will examine comparative African tax administrative structures; exchange of information under double taxation and international agreements; and transfer pricing, to name a few topics of interest. Our research will be expanded as we identify other areas of interest and as the organisation develops.
Ladies and gentlemen, as we saw from the conference sessions where we shared experiences on revenue mobilisation and state-building: we have many questions, all of which require answers. But these are answers that we will have to work out for ourselves; we will have to rely on our own experiences, knowledge and a deeper understanding of taxation within the African context, taking account of the African experience, traditions and values. Good governance, accountability and state-building are fundamental parts of our agenda which we will continue to pursue robustly.
As tax administrations we work at the coalface, with daily interactions with citizens and business, both formal and informal. We must use these opportunities to engage our citizens, our governments and non-governmental sectors on issues such as Taxation and accountability; compliance behaviour and State-building and governance. We should also use every opportunity of interaction to create an increased awareness of ATAF in Africa and globally. We have a duty to use all the knowledge and experience we gain to advise our Finance Ministries, Treasuries and Budget Offices on important policies and approaches. Therefore, by committing to ATAF, we pledge to work effectively at this level. Today, as ATAF, we met with Development Partners and discussed matters related to donor relations and accountability; and we will continue to do so. We look forward to engaging with them further as we cooperate on achieving the ATAF work programme going forward.
Ladies and gentlemen, from here, together, let us proceed to build ATAF into a model African instrument and institution, able to contribute effective programmes and policy inputs to our countries. We have an ambitious programme planned for the future; as members and development partners let us participate fully in the work of ATAF, let us build and organisation that Africa can be proud of.
Thank you.
Source: South African Revenue Services
