On 12 April 2024, we attended the virtual launch of the report ‘Transforming Education Financing in Africa: A Strategic Agenda for the African Union Year of Education’ by the Tax and Education (TaxEd) Alliance. The event was attended by 124 participants and is available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.  

The report explores how actions on tax, debt and austerity can sustainably transform education financing in the African Union (AU) Member States.  

We provided substantive inputs to the report, recalling African States’ human rights obligation to provide quality public education, thus emphasising the need for them to prioritise the provision and financing of public education over its delegation to private actors notwithstanding austerity. We equally underlined the importance for AU Member States to join forces with other regions in the Global South, particularly Latin America to strengthen their collective voice and bargaining power in international tax negotiations. 

Also, we provided thorough proofreading and revision of the Spanish translation of the report to support TaxEd Alliance’s efforts in ensuring that such a groundbreaking report reaches spaces beyond the borders of the African continent. 

Ashina Mtsumi, Coordinator of the TaxEd Alliance gave an overview of the content of the report. 

Solange Akpo, Regional Coordinator of the African Network Campaign on Education For All (ANCEFA) explained the process underpinning the African Union Year of Education which started from the 2022 Transforming Education Summit. 

Everlyn Muendo, Policy Associate at Tax Justice Network Africa, unpacked the meaning of progressive tax systems, highlighting that in such systems, taxing is proportional to income whereas Value Added Tax is regressive because it adds more burden on the less privileged. 

Diana Mochoge, Research Policy and Advocacy Officer showed how a great number of African countries use more resources to service debt than to invest in public services such as education. 

Chikumbutso Ngosi, International Project Manager at ActionAid, indicated that austerity measures are shaped by power dynamics led by International Finance Institutions (IFIs) and impact citizens, including through wage bill capping.  

Following the panelists’ presentations, a Q&A session was open. Participants provided interesting inputs which enriched the conversation. 

To conclude the event, panelists suggested solutions towards transforming education financing in Africa. These included: implementing the taxation of wealthy individuals; supporting the UN Tax Convention; implementing the African Borrowing Charter; strive for an African financial independence; increasing scrutiny on national government and IFIs regarding austerity; adopting a cross-sectoral approach in addressing issues of tax, debt and austerity.