Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19: The Primacy of Domestic Resources Mobilization
While the pandemic has reshaped the financing for development landscape in Africa and exacerbated existing vulnerabilities, it also provides an opportunity for African countries to strengthen domestic resource mobilization to underpin sustainable development financing. Effective domestic resource mobilization is essential in order to obtain the financing required to effectively drive the continent’s economic growth and development in an inclusive and sustainable manner. Increased domestic resource mobilization would also be fundamental to Africa reclaiming its policy space over its development, channelling resources towards productive capacity development and structural transformation and industrialization. However, for domestic resource mobilization to play an effective role in the continent’s sustainable development agenda, fundamental changes in both policy and institutions will be required, including through improving efficiency in public expenditures, strengthening revenue collection, harnessing private savings and the private financial sector for development and stemming illicit financial flows.