Connect with us

Business

WATAF Urges Stronger Media-Tax Cooperation in Africa

Published

on

WATAF

Africa media tax cooperation WATAF is urged as tax forum links press freedom to transparency, compliance and stronger domestic revenue mobilisation

adron lemon friday

The West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF), called for enhanced cooperation between media organisations and tax authorities across Africa, stressing that press freedom remains critical to improving tax compliance and strengthening transparency in public finance systems.

Also read:FAAC Payouts Hit ₦5.8tn as Oil Earnings and Tax Reforms Strengthen Revenue

The Africa media tax cooperation WATAF appeal was made in a statement marking World Press Freedom Day, issued by the Forum’s Executive Secretary, Jules Tapsoba.

Tapsoba said a free and independent press plays a vital role in building accountable tax systems, improving citizen trust, and supporting sustainable domestic revenue mobilisation across the continent.

He noted that responsible journalism helps citizens better understand tax policies and government spending, while also holding public institutions accountable for their actions.

“A free and responsible press is indispensable to transparent tax systems. By informing citizens and holding institutions accountable, the media strengthens trust, improves compliance, and supports sustainable domestic revenue mobilisation,” Tapsoba said.

WATAF observed that many African governments are increasingly focusing on domestic revenue generation as a way to reduce dependence on external borrowing and foreign aid.

The Forum added that public confidence in institutions, supported by access to accurate information, directly influences citizens’ willingness to meet tax obligations.

It further stated that quality reporting on taxation, governance, and public finance helps combat tax evasion, illicit financial flows, and corruption, which continue to undermine revenue systems across Africa.

WATAF commended journalists across the continent for maintaining professionalism despite operational challenges, describing the media as a key partner in strengthening accountability.

The organisation urged revenue authorities to adopt more transparent communication strategies and engage the media more actively in taxpayer education and public awareness campaigns.

It maintained that stronger collaboration between tax agencies and the press would improve understanding of tax reforms, boost voluntary compliance, and support national development goals.

Also read: Cross River Alumni Propose Tax-Based Education Fund

WATAF also reaffirmed its commitment to promoting transparency, knowledge sharing, and institutional cooperation to build more resilient tax systems across West Africa and the wider continent.

66 / 100 SEO Score

Business

Cement costs more in Nigeria than Kenya, Togo, FCCPC finds

Published

on

FCCPC

Cement price manipulation is under investigation by the FCCPC after a three-month study found Nigerian prices were high despite surplus capacity

(more…)

adron lemon friday

71 / 100 SEO Score
Continue Reading

Business

Heirs Life Names Pastor Jerry Eze Independent Non-Executive Director

Published

on

Heirs

Heirs Life appoints Jerry Eze as an Independent Non-Executive Director to strengthen financial inclusion, consumer trust and insurance adoption (more…)

75 / 100 SEO Score
Continue Reading

Business

Shoreline Group secures US$200 million Afreximbank Facility

Published

on

By

Shoreline Group today announced that African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has approved a US$200 million facility in favour of Shoreline Power Company Limited and co-borrowers including Arkad S.p.A., Shoreline’s majority-owned engineering and construction platform.
Approved in June 2026, the facility was arranged and provided by Afreximbank as sole mandated lead arranger and lender. It provides bonding and working-capital capacity for Arkad’s delivery of the Hassi Bir Rekaiz project and supports Shoreline and its affiliates in developing further pipeline and infrastructure
projects in Nigeria and other permitted jurisdictions.
“This is a defining transaction for Shoreline and Arkad. We built Arkad as an African- sponsored engineering platform capable of competing at the highest level, and it is now delivering against a billion-dollar energy contract. Afreximbank’s US$200 million commitment gives the platform the financial strength to match its engineering capability and pursue further major infrastructure mandates. It demonstrates that African enterprises can assemble the capital, capability and partnerships required to compete for infrastructure at international scale.”
Hassi Bir Rekaiz Phase 2a Arkad holds 44 per cent of the approximately US$1 billion EPCCS-1 contract awarded by Groupement
Hassi Bir Rekaiz (GHBR) to an unincorporated consortium led by Egypt’s Petrojet, which holds 56 percent. EPCCS-1 covers engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and start-up for the Phase 2a central processing facility and related infrastructure at the Hassi Bir Rekaiz field in Algeria’s Berkine
Basin.
GHBR is the joint operating entity for the licence, held by Sonatrach with 51 per cent and Thailand’s PTTEP with 49 per cent. The project includes a new crude oil processing facility with capacity of 31,500 barrels per day, facilities for associated gas and produced-water treatment, approximately 217 kilometres
of pipelines and the brownfield modifications required to integrate existing Phase 1 infrastructure.
The facilities are designed to support later expansion to 63,000 barrels per day under Phase 2b.
“This financing addresses the instruments that determine whether an EPC contractor can execute at scale: performance guarantees, advance payment guarantees and working capital through the project cycle. Hassi Bir Rekaiz is a demanding scope, combining a new central processing facility, associated treatment systems, pipelines and brownfield integration. With Petrojet, and with the support of Shoreline and Afreximbank, Arkad is focused on disciplined delivery against the project’s safety, quality and schedule requirements.”
The transaction was structured under Afreximbank’s Engineering, Procurement and Construction Initiative, which supports African engineering and construction firms with the financial instruments required to compete for and execute large infrastructure contracts. Afreximbank also supported the Arkad-Petrojet partnership through its EPC twinning work at the Intra-African Trade Fair held in Algiers
in 2025.
According to Afreximbank, the transaction is its first support for a Sub-Saharan African contractor undertaking a major infrastructure project in North Africa. For Shoreline, it demonstrates a practical model for combining African ownership and capital with established international engineering andindustrial capability.

adron lemon friday

41 / 100 SEO Score
Continue Reading

Trending News