Financing Africa

Waris, Attiya

Nov 2019 · Langaa RPCIG

About this eBook

Financing Africa’s development requires ingenuity, discipline, and an understanding of fiscal systems – the entirety of government revenues and expenditures, including taxation and debt. This book makes fascinating what might seem at first glance complex. It describes diverse approaches that have been adjusted to local circumstances across the continent and reflects on the push to unite and harmonise toward African union.

Africa is rich, yet resources are lost through loopholes in fiscal systems. Financial resources come from the people, are not unlimited, and do not come easily or without cost. Africans must therefore cherish these resources and use them in nation-building and national and regional development. Efficient, effective, transparent and accountable fiscal systems that are fair and just will go a long way toward financing Africa’s development.

Using examples from all of Africa’s 54 countries, the book makes fiscal matters real and understandable for people, no matter their field. It demonstrates the importance of fiscal law and policy for development and the impact it has on individuals, communities, nations, regional groupings, and the continent.

About the author

Attiya Waris is the only Professor of Fiscal Law and Policy in East Africa. She teachers at the University of Nairobi where she chairs the Fiscal Studies Committee, at the University of Rwanda, and at the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria. She is an Observer to the UN Tax Committee.