The writer is a Senior Economic Affairs Officer and leader of the Policy Analysis and Coordination team in the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (UN - OSAA).
I recently overheard a conversation among three young people at a café in an African city. It was a passionate discussion on the management of funds allocated to the COVID-19 response and the effectiveness of the mechanisms in place to manage the money to achieve the intended purposes.
This undermines efforts to mobilize domestic resources to finance the continent's development as outlined in the United Nation's 2030 Agenda and African Union Agenda 2063, which both recognize the primacy of strong and effective institutions in driving sustainable development. Empirical evidence shows that countries with a low Corruption Perception Index score collected 4.3 per cent more in tax revenue to GDP than those with a high CPI score .
For example, the launch of M-Shwari in Kenya increased access to financial services for millions who may otherwise have been excluded from the financial sector. Taking advantage of this trend, the Kenya Revenue Authority introduced electronic banking in 2016 to expedite the payment of taxes through secure electronic payment.
Digitizing tax administration in Africa has been relatively slow. An International Monetary Fund's analysis shows that, relative to other developing regions, African countries scored below the world average on almost all indices related to tax administration performance, especially on the degree of digitization.
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