From Enforcement to Partnership: KRA at 30 and Africa’s Path Toward a Fairer, Digital, and Inclusive Tax Future

Africa stands at a critical juncture where fiscal sovereignty must replace dependency. The defining challenge of this era is not merely funding budgets but fundamentally redefining the social contract around taxation. Our economic future cannot be secured through external aid or increased borrowing; it must be built on the bedrock of shared responsibility and voluntary compliance. This pivot—from being owed to owing each other—is now central to Kenya’s and, indeed, the continent’s development trajectory.

This October, as the 10^th KRA Summit convenes at The Edge Hotel & Convention Centre in Nairobi, the conversation takes on added significance. Kenya Revenue Authority marks 30 years since its establishment, a milestone that underscores how far the institution has come in shaping Kenya’s fiscal journey. From its inception in 1995, when compliance was largely synonymous with enforcement, to today—where digitalization, inclusion, and customer-centricity guide the mandate—KRA’s story is one of transformation. It is a journey that reflects not just Kenya’s evolution, but also Africa’s search for sustainable fiscal models anchored in trust.

The Summit’s theme, “Beyond the Frontiers: Advancing Digitalized, Inclusive, and Customer-Centric Revenue Administrations,” reflects the complexity of the task ahead. Across Africa, tax administrations must navigate four interconnected frontiers shaping the future of fiscal governance. The Trust Frontier reflects persistent compliance gaps rooted in a frayed social contract. Rebuilding trust requires genuine accountability and radical transparency in how public funds are used. The Digital Frontier offers Africa the chance to leapfrog outdated models by embracing technology, but only if solutions are inclusive, serving the small trader as effectively as the corporate executive.

The Integration Frontier is equally urgent. The African Continental Free Trade Area calls for harmonized customs and tax systems, with demand for interoperable solutions that facilitate cross border trade and curb illicit flows while ensuring fairness. Finally, the Legitimacy Frontier is shaped by Africa’s rapidly expanding, digitally savvy youth who will not tolerate opaque, top-down approaches. Meeting their expectations means embedding openness into every stage of administration, as they seek not just accountability but co-ownership of fiscal systems that reflect their aspirations and safeguard their future.

Over the past decade, the KRA Summit has demonstrated that dialogue is the most strategic tool in revenue administration. In 2022, our focus on “Enhanced Service Delivery to Improve Compliance” reframed taxation from obligation to shared service, shifting the narrative from “you must pay” to “we must serve.” In 2024, stakeholders demonstrated how blockchain could expedite trade facilitation, enhance transparency, and curb illicit flows. Perhaps most transformative were lessons from Kenya’s informal sector: simplified, accessible systems like USSD filing achieve compliance more effectively than punitive enforcement.

This year, the Summit will move from conversation to concrete architecture by exploring Digitalization with dignity that drives voluntary compliance through taxpayer-cantered solutions, Inclusion as infrastructure that expands the tax base without crushing small enterprises, Customer-centricity as culture where taxpayer satisfaction matters as much as collection targets and Regional integration that harmonizes practices under AfCFTA while facilitating seamless trade.

From a communication perspective, this is ultimately about building trust through collaboration. Resistance to taxation rarely stems from misunderstanding rates; it reflects scepticism about whether taxes are used wisely. Closing this gap requires radical transparency, authentic participation in policy design, and narratives that frame taxation as collective investment rather than extraction. Kenya’s own 30-year journey provides evidence of this shift. Traditional enforcement may have anchored the early years, but simplification, education, and digital platforms now define a more facilitative approach where compliance is earned through service, not fear.

As KRA marks 30 years of service, its trajectory offers a continental lesson that fiscal transformation is possible when institutions evolve with citizens, not apart from them. The future of taxation is not enforcement but partnership. Citizens will sustain revenue systems only when they see their sacrifices reflected in services that improve daily life. Building that bridge of trust is the task before us, and the KRA Summit is our opportunity to cross it together—beyond taxation, toward service delivery that defines a stronger, fairer, and more inclusive Africa.

The conversation begins October 14, 2025. Join us in co-authoring Africa’s fiscal future.

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Grace Wandera is the Deputy Commissioner for Citizen Relations & Communication at the Kenya Revenue Authority