Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) Commissioner Sam Shivute has been elected Vice Chairperson of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) during the organization’s General Meetings held on Wednesday.
Shivute, the founding Commissioner of NamRA, will serve alongside South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner, Professor Edward Kieswetter, who was elected Chairperson.
The newly elected Governing Council of ATAF includes eight other Commissioners General from Burkina Faso, Botswana, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, and Liberia.
The members will serve a two-year term, steering the organization’s efforts to strengthen tax administration across the continent.
ATAF serves as a platform for collaboration and peer learning among African tax administrations.
It aims to improve tax collection capacity, enhance governance and state-building through effective taxation, and provide a unified voice for African tax administrations. The organization also promotes Pan-African collaboration and works closely with development partners.
Namibia, as a fully paid-up ATAF member according to NamRA, has significantly benefited from the forum’s technical assistance and training programs, which have bolstered its effectiveness in revenue collection, addressed operational gaps, and strengthened the agency’s capacity to serve the public.