At the inaugural joint African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) Country Correspondents and ATAF Women in Tax Network (AWITN) Leadership Conference, the Commissioner-General of National Revenue Authority-Sierra Leone Mrs. Jeneba J. Bangura, who also doubles as the Vice President of AWITN has called on African tax leaders to accelerate gender-responsive tax policies and economic empowerment for women.
Mrs. Bangura who was deputizing the AWITN Chairman, Ms Veronique Herminie (former Commissioner General of Seychelles Revenue Commission), reaffirmed AWITN’s commitment to gender equality in taxation, re-echoing the 2025 International Women’s Day theme: “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” She emphasized that fair tax systems are essential for Africa’s economic development.
She celebrated AWITN’s four-year milestone, recognizing its impact as a key reference on gender and taxation. While noting that 14 ATAF member countries pledged to implement gender-sensitive tax policies during the 2024 ATAF Annual Meetings, she warned that at the current pace, achieving gender parity must be accelerated
While outlining AWITN’s key priorities, she highlighted gender-neutral tax policies and data collection, gender-responsive tax administration and gender balance maturity models as key to fair taxation and just tax administration.
She cited AWITN Gender Champion, Mr. Sam Shivute, CG for Namibia Revenue Agency; who recently called the slow progress on gender equality “unacceptable” at the UNDP Tax for SDGs meeting, reinforcing the urgency of reform.
Closing the conference, Madam Bangura urged ATAF tax leaders to strengthen collaboration, integrate AI and emerging technologies, and drive gender-responsive taxation forward. The conference concluded with a renewed commitment to ensuring Africa’s tax policies to foster equality and economic inclusion for all.