At the opening of the 8th High‑Level Policy Dialogue and 23rd General Assembly of the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) in Accra, Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson urged African governments and regional institutions to strengthen tax cooperation to protect domestic revenue and meet the continent’s development financing needs.
Speaking in a speech read for him by GRA Board Chairman Mr Kweku George Ricketts‑Hagan, the minister highlighted the importance of a unified African voice in the international tax architecture and called for better coordination on emerging global tax issues.
Forson identified base erosion and profit shifting, the taxation of the digital economy and the global minimum tax as key matters that have become central to Africa’s development agenda. He warned that tax administrations can no longer operate in isolation as businesses increasingly structure operations across jurisdictions and capital flows rapidly across borders.
The minister urged tax bodies to enhance mechanisms for sharing taxpayer intelligence, identifying cross‑border tax risks and learning from successful compliance interventions. He also called for greater investment in African expertise, reducing dependence on external technical capacity and building stronger indigenous tax administration capabilities.
Mr Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, Commissioner‑General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, added that West Africa recorded real GDP growth of 4.8 per cent in 2025, with 4.6 per cent projected for 2026, yet the region still faces a significant development financing gap. He urged tax administrations to broaden the tax base, formalise informal economic activities, improve natural‑resource revenue management and strengthen information exchange among jurisdictions.
Forson concluded that revenue mobilisation must be accompanied by efforts to curb illicit financial flows, tax evasion, trade under‑invoicing, smuggling and other revenue leakages. He urged governments and regional bodies to embrace data, digital transformation, cross‑border cooperation and professional development to build stronger, smarter and more sustainable tax administrations capable of financing development.
