Published: August 21, 2026
ABUJA, Nigeria — The West African Tax Administration Forum has launched a $5.3 million initiative financed by the African Development Bank to strengthen tax administrations, improve domestic revenue collection and build more resilient revenue systems across six West African countries, including Liberia.
The Strengthening Tax Administration Capacity Project in West Africa, known as STACP-WA, was launched Tuesday, Aug. 18, in Abuja. The four-year project is financed through a 4 million unit of account grant from the African Development Fund/Transition Support Facility Pillar III, equivalent to about $5.3 million.
The project will directly benefit Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone — countries identified as facing significant challenges in mobilizing domestic revenue.
The initiative comes as governments across West Africa confront mounting fiscal pressures, rising debt-service obligations and increasing demands to finance infrastructure, education, health, human capital development and regional integration without excessive reliance on external financing.
WATAF Executive Secretary Jules Tapsoba described the launch as a major milestone for the organization and its efforts to strengthen tax administration across the region.
“This project is a milestone for WATAF and for tax administration in West Africa,” Tapsoba said.
He said the initiative represents the first externally financed multilateral project of its magnitude to be implemented by WATAF and signals a new phase in the forum’s contribution to domestic revenue mobilization, institutional resilience and regional cooperation.
Although six countries will directly benefit from the AfDB-backed intervention, Tapsoba said WATAF intends to use the project as a foundation for expanding technical assistance and capacity-building initiatives to other member countries.
“While six countries will benefit directly from this AfDB-supported intervention, WATAF is already mobilizing to expand its horizon to the wider region through future projects designed around the specific needs of member tax administrations,” he said.
Tapsoba commended the African Development Bank for its partnership and support, saying the project’s development and eventual launch reflected cooperation among regional institutions and a shared commitment to improving tax administration.
He also recognized former WATAF Executive Secretary Babatunde Oladapo, under whose leadership the project was initially conceived.
WATAF also acknowledged the Economic Community of West African States for its longstanding collaboration, particularly in areas involving value-added tax harmonization, tax policy coordination and tax expenditure management.
Focus on revenue, compliance and digitalization
Presenting an overview of STACP-WA, Ibrahim Ansu Bangura, principal governance officer at the African Development Bank, said domestic revenue mobilization has become increasingly important to development financing and resilience in West Africa.
The project is designed to help beneficiary countries strengthen the administration of domestic, trade and extractive-sector taxes while improving taxpayer compliance and reducing revenue leakages.
The initiative will also support the adoption and improvement of digital tax systems, value-added tax and electronic invoicing reforms, taxpayer education and gender-responsive tax policies.
Natural resource revenue management will be another major area of intervention, particularly in countries where extractive industries represent an important source of government revenue.
According to Bangura, the project has three principal components.
The first focuses on improving the efficient administration of domestic and trade taxes. The second seeks to improve natural resource revenues in resource-rich countries. The third will support project management, coordination and institutional capacity development within the WATAF Secretariat.
The emphasis on digitalization and stronger compliance mechanisms reflects growing efforts across Africa to modernize tax administrations and close gaps that allow revenue to be lost through weak enforcement, inefficient systems and limited taxpayer compliance.
For Liberia, the project could provide additional technical and institutional support as the government seeks to increase domestic revenue and reduce dependence on external assistance.
ECOWAS backs regional tax reform
Speaking on behalf of the ECOWAS Commission, Darlingston Y. Talery, acting director of the Directorate of Customs Union and Taxation, congratulated WATAF on the initiative and praised the African Development Bank for its investment in strengthening domestic resource mobilization.
Talery said the project comes at a critical time for West African countries, many of which are dealing with fiscal constraints and growing debt obligations.
He said stronger tax administrations are essential for sustainable development, fiscal sovereignty and regional integration.
The ECOWAS Commission, he added, is prepared to support the initiative through policy coordination, technical cooperation and alignment with regional tax directives and reforms.
The commitment is particularly significant as ECOWAS continues efforts to harmonize tax policies and strengthen the regional economic integration framework.
Project rooted in earlier WATAF efforts
Oladapo, the immediate past WATAF executive secretary, reflected on the origins of STACP-WA and said he was pleased to see an initiative conceived several years ago become a reality.
He credited the individuals and institutions that contributed to the project’s development and called for sustained cooperation among WATAF, ECOWAS, the AfDB and the beneficiary countries.
Oladapo urged WATAF to draw on the region’s pool of tax experts to implement the project and ensure that its interventions produce measurable improvements in beneficiary tax administrations.
His comments underscored the importance of using regional expertise rather than relying exclusively on external technical assistance.
Call for effective implementation
Femi Edgal, representing the Nigeria Revenue Service, also welcomed the initiative, saying it aligns with WATAF’s broader objective of building stronger and more effective tax administrations throughout West Africa.
Edgal praised the African Development Bank’s financial support and expressed hope that STACP-WA would generate tangible improvements in domestic revenue mobilization in the targeted countries.
He called for stronger teamwork and collaboration among tax administrations and regional institutions.
Dr. Tarila Ebiede, senior fragility and resilience officer at the African Development Bank, similarly congratulated WATAF on securing the project but cautioned that successful implementation would be critical to achieving its objectives.
Ebiede said domestic revenue mobilization is essential to financing development and strengthening institutional resilience.
He urged stakeholders to prioritize effective implementation, sustainability planning and strong institutional coordination.
The project, he said, should ultimately strengthen the systems that governments need to finance their development priorities and respond more effectively to economic and institutional shocks.
Implications for Liberia and the region
The launch of STACP-WA comes as Liberia and other beneficiary countries seek to strengthen domestic resource mobilization as a foundation for sustainable public financing.
For Liberia, improved tax administration could help expand the government’s revenue base, strengthen compliance, reduce leakages and improve the efficiency of tax collection.
The project’s focus on digital tax tools, VAT reforms, electronic invoicing, taxpayer education and extractive-sector revenue management also aligns with broader efforts to modernize tax systems and improve transparency.
Beyond the six beneficiary countries, WATAF hopes the project will establish a platform for broader regional cooperation and future interventions.
The forum said it will continue mobilizing partnerships to address the tax administration needs of additional member countries and support specific capacity-development priorities.
As governments across West Africa face pressure to finance development with limited fiscal space, the project places domestic revenue mobilization at the center of the region’s search for greater financial resilience.
Its success, however, will depend not only on the funding provided but also on the ability of beneficiary countries and regional institutions to translate technical support, digital reforms and institutional capacity building into measurable improvements in revenue collection and taxpayer compliance.
For WATAF, the $5.3 million initiative represents both a major institutional achievement and a test of the forum’s capacity to deliver coordinated tax administration reforms at the regional level.
If effectively implemented, the project could help the six beneficiary countries strengthen their tax systems while providing a model for broader cooperation on domestic revenue mobilization across West Africa.
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