Danida-SP-ToC11-PAN Africa Sierra Leone

During the past decade, Africa had the second fastest growing economy in the world after East Asia. However, Africa is currently home to more than 45% of the world’s poorest people and the economic progress has neither been inclusive, nor brought food security, jobs or sufficient levels of poverty eradication. Rather, it has brought excessive inequalities in the distribution of wealth, access to land and public services, such as education and health. Seven of the 20 most unequal countries in the world are on the African continent. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the ‘beyond aid’ agendas call for greater focus on domestic resource mobilization (DRM) and for sustainable and pro-poor public spending on e.g. education and health. It is apparent that the private sector – incl. foreign companies and investors - will be a key player in ensuring this financing, while it is also expected that the SDGs will create new business opportunities. A core challenge remains as tax revenues that could potentially be generated nationally and continentally are still not meeting their potential due to corporate tax evasion and avoidance, exemptions and deductions, and unfavourable contracts, combined with corruption and lack of capacity and will among national tax authorities and decision makers. Meanwhile, the space to participate in decision making for civil society, especially for youth and women, is shrinking alarmingly across the continent and awareness among citizens of the role of taxation in the social contract is not well developed. There is an urgent need to ensure that African economic growth including its commercial relations with the rest of the world becomes more inclusive, sustainable, and an enabler of DRM to achieve the SDGs (esp. 10 and 17) and the Africa Agenda 2063 by tapping into the assets and capacities of all aspects of society and empowered national institutions. Specific objective 1: Convening multi-stakeholder dialogues between civil society, private sector, investors, governments and regional institutions, aiming at progressive policy changes on DRM and pro-poor public and private investments in Africa, that enhances transparency, accountability and eliminates illicit financial flows, corruption, and inequality, and reduces dependence on external aid. Specific objective 2: Capacity development of civil society, particularly youth and women, and cross-country empowerment of citizens to act on their potentials as change agents in advocating for fair, transparent and accountable fiscal policies in the protection and advancement of their social, economic and political rights.