Fiscal Policy

The book Taxation, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development - Global South Perspectives offers a profound interdisciplinary exploration of the intersection between fiscal policy, human rights, and sustainable development. It features a diverse range of contributors arguing that taxation must be understood not merely as a fiscal or economic mechanism for state revenue generation, but as a vital instrument of human rights fulfilment and social justice. The authors contend that tax systems embody the essence of a social contract, mediating the reciprocal obligations between the state and its citizens. At its core, the book asserts that States, bound by international human rights law and domestic constitutional commitments, have an obligation to design and implement fiscal systems capable of respecting, protecting and fulfilling rights. Taxation, therefore, becomes a moral and political process through which states mobilize resources to secure access to healthcare, education, infrastructure, and social protection.

The book is well written, structured, and displays depth of research into the nexus between taxation, socio-economic rights and sustainable development. The book underscores the importance of tax justice in attaining any meaningful and lasting development in the Global South. The book is of immense use not only to students and researchers but also to human rights groups, policy makers and the general public. Apart from the general introduction written as chapter one, the authors divide the book into three major parts with eleven chapters in total. The first part of the book discusses conceptualization and evolution of the role of human rights in taxation while the second part focuses on the role of various stakeholders in taxation. The third part explores the existing relationship between tax compliance and development. However, for ease of reference, I will take the liberty of appraising the book per chapter.

Emerging literature has established that there is a link between taxation and human rights. However, the nature of this link, the existence (or absence) of a coherent normative framework, and how taxation can be leveraged to foster the realization of socioeconomic rights have preoccupied the discussions in the literature. Notably, very few conversations in the literature have exclusively focused the discussion on taxpayers’ perspective in the global south. This is precisely the gap addressed by Taxation, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development: Global South Perspectives, edited by Eghosa O. Ekhator, Newman U. Richards, and Chisa Onyejekwe, and published by Routledge in 2025. As this review will demonstrate, this book makes a significant and timely contribution to the literature for several important reasons.

‘Taxation, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development- Global South Perspectives’ is an enjoyable and accessible read for those looking to understand more about domestic, regional, and international fiscal policy relevant to the human rights and sustainable development discourse.

Many discussions of human rights and economic policy feel aspirational, treating rights as guiding principles but stopping short of turning them into concrete legal or administrative action. The edited volume Taxation, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development: Global South Perspectives takes a different path. It digs into the hard work of turning human rights into working law and policy for taxation, viewed through experiences and priorities in the Global South.

Human rights play an integral role in State revenue sourcing and taxation in different parts of the world. For countries in the Global South, it should be an obligation to consider human rights in their tax policies and legislation as they need a sustainable revenue source to meet their socio-economic responsibilities (the welfare state) of which tax revenue is major slant. This goes to the foundations of a good tax system. Drawing lessons from the Global South, this book examines whether human rights can be invoked in the debate on creating effective tax regimes across the various jurisdictions.

L’harmonisation des règles douanières au sein de la ZLECAF est réelle et salutaire. Elle est une réalité puisqu’elle repose essentiellement sur la réduction des droits de douane des Etats membres de la ZLECAF. Cette réalité se manifeste non seulement par l’existence de réelles politiques d’harmonisation des règles douanières mais aussi par un domaine assez précis de l’harmonisation de ces règles. En revanche, l’harmonisation des règles fiscales est éprouvée pour deux raisons : d’abord, l’on note l’absence de politique favorable à l’harmonisation des règles fiscales au sein de la ZLECAF ; ensuite, l’on note l’absence de mesures de coopération entre la ZLECAF et les autres espaces communautaires africains au sein desquels s’est déjà effectuée l’harmonisation fiscale. Pour atteindre l’objectif d’harmonisation des règles fiscales, il est souhaitable qu’une politique d’harmonisation fiscale particulière soit menée au sein de la ZLECAF, laquelle pourrait s’appuyer sur celle déjà menée au sein de l’UEMOA, de la CEMAC.

This quarterly report argues that Africa’s ongoing debt crisis is deeply intertwined with the legacies of colonialism, the political pressures of post-independence governance, and the global financial system’s exploitative practices. Recently liberated African states in the 1970s and 1980s faced the dual challenge of fulfilling liberation promises, such as expanding education, healthcare, and infrastructure, while relying on favorable commodity prices to sustain economic growth. This combination of political urgency and economic optimism led to extensive borrowing, often underpinned by forced loans and unrealistic economic forecasting.

On November 6 2025, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that it had concluded its mission to Senegal which occurred from October 22 to November 6, 2025. These discussions were geared at advancing discussions initiated during the 2025 Annual Meetings on a new IMF-supported programme and to review progress on corrective measures related to Senegal’s hidden debt. The “hidden debt” in question refers to a debt underreporting incident uncovered in late 2024 from the country’s previous administration. From all indications, this scandal continues to haunt Senegal, which has recently concluded the most recent IMF mission, notably without any new lending agreements. Following this, Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko reportedly shunned any proposal to restructure the country’s public debt. He said the measure, supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), would be a “disgrace” for the country. This Update will consider Senegal’s current debt landscape and examine its current stance towards arresting its debt challenges.

According to the Nigerian Debt Management Office, Nigeria raised $2.25 billion in a bond sale on Wednesday, 5 November 2025. The sale reflected what Reuters referred to as a ‘sharp improvement in global borrowing conditions’ which has lured so-called highly indebted sovereigns back to international capital markets. Notably, Congo Republic, Angola and Kenya have also sold their high-yield debt to eager investors. Others such as Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire, which in a bid to assume a more conservative stance have resorted to the regional markets instead, such as the West African Monetary Union (WAMU). Nigeria's dual-tranche listing for ten-year and twenty-year bonds was oversubscribed by as much as 12 times. The long 10-year (maturing 2036) and long 20-year (maturing 2046) notes were priced at 8.625% and 9.125% respectively.