ATAF Pushes for DRM as Africa Faces Shrinking Aid and Rising Debt
By Patience Ikpeme
With Africa grappling with a widening financing gap for development, the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) has stated that stronger domestic resource mobilisation (DRM) remains the most sustainable path to meeting the continent’s growing funding needs.
Recent findings presented at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in 2025 revealed that the global annual financing shortfall for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has surged to $4 trillion, with Africa’s share standing at $1.7 trillion, or 40 per cent of the total. This sharp increase reflects a worsening situation compared to the $2.5 trillion gap estimated in 2015.
The decline in Official Development Assistance (ODA), coupled with inadequate public revenues and the rising cost of servicing external debt, has left many African countries struggling to meet basic development targets. The United Nations projects that only 17 per cent of the 135 SDG targets are on track to be achieved by 2030, with most either stalled or reversing.
ATAF noted that DRM offers African governments a way to reclaim fiscal space and reduce dependence on unpredictable external financing. Taxes remain the backbone of budgetary funding on the continent, but the tax-to-GDP ratio in most African countries remains below the 15 per cent benchmark regarded as necessary for sustainable development. According to ATAF’s analysis, even a one per cent rise in the tax-to-GDP ratio could yield an additional $35 billion annually, potentially generating $350 billion by 2030 to close the financing gap.
However, the forum warned that these efforts continue to be undermined by Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), which drain billions of dollars from African economies every year. ATAF advocates a multi-pronged approach to address the challenge, including tax and trade reforms, stronger customs and revenue administration, wider use of technology, automatic exchange of tax information, disclosure of beneficial ownership, and anti-corruption measures.
The issue of IFFs has now been formally recognised within the G20 Development Working Group (DWG), following lobbying efforts during South Africa’s presidency of the G20. ATAF, which is a taskforce member of the DWG, is expected to help draft a roadmap for implementing voluntary principles agreed by the G20 to curb financial leakages.
Beyond fiscal policy, ATAF is also pushing for DRM reforms that address gender inequality, noting that women—who make up more than half of Africa’s population—remain underrepresented in tax leadership roles and earn significantly less than men. Through the African Women in Tax Network (AWITN), ATAF is working to promote gender-responsive tax policies and support the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group’s agenda on workplace equality and financial inclusion.
The organisation said its commitment to DRM and inclusive growth forms part of the Revenue Action for Development in Africa (RADA), a programme designed to help the continent fund its own development and reduce reliance on external support.
