On 27 May 2017 the Secretary General of Cameroon’s Ministry of Mines, Industries and Technological Development opened a three-day regional dialogue for senior government officials on contract negotiation and fiscal policies in the extractive industries. This was the third in a series of such events held by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, NEPAD, in an ongoing collaboration with ISLP. Delegates from over ten countries came together in Yaounde to share and learn about initiatives and best practices on issues including fiscal regime design, countering tax avoidance, negotiating stabilisation clauses, and the administration of extractive industries taxation. A team of ISLP and other experts, including input from the Connex Support Unit, the OECD and the African Union, provided presentations to stimulate and structure the dialogue.
The first day of the conference explored how fiscal regimes are made up in the context of the extractive industries and discussed ways countries sometimes experience those regimes being undermined, with a particular focus on identifying vectors of tax avoidance. The second day looked at selected special features of making and implementing fiscal policies in the context of the extractives sector, including contractual, political and governance-related features, and also tax administration and collection issues. On the final day, a selection of resources and initiatives of relevance to the conference topics were presented. In addition, national and international experiences and responses to the challenges of raising extractives sector revenues were exchanged and discussed.
