Abuja, Nigeria – The West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF), in collaboration with the TADAT Secretariat of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has conducted the first Francophone TADAT Training and Certification Session in Cotonou, Benin, marking another major step in WATAF’s drive to strengthen tax administration performance across West Africa.
The Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT) is an internationally recognised framework used to assess the performance of tax administrations, identify strengths and weaknesses, and guide reforms that improve compliance, revenue collection, accountability and transparency.
The training, held from 24 to 28 August 2026, brought together tax officials from Francophone WATAF member administrations, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger and Senegal, with participation both in person and online.
More than 300 tax officials registered for the Cotonou session, while 175 successfully participated in the training, which requires an intensive examination. This follows the first-ever Anglophone TADAT training and certification session held in April 2026, in Lagos, Nigeria, which brought together 137 participants. Together, both sessions have reached at least 300 tax officers across the WATAF region in 2026 alone.
This milestone reflects WATAF’s growing impact as a regional platform for tax capacity building, peer learning and domestic revenue mobilisation. So far in 2026, WATAF has reached at least 1,050 tax officials through its capacity-building initiatives, with several more training programmes and activities planned before the end of the year.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Jules Tapsoba, Executive Secretary of WATAF, said the Francophone TADAT session was an important part of WATAF’s commitment to ensuring balanced access to technical training across the region.
“This first Francophone TADAT session represents an important step in strengthening regional expertise and ensuring that tax administrations across our region have access to the knowledge and tools needed to assess and improve their performance,” he said.
Following the successful completion of the weeklong exercise, Mr. Tapsoba praised and thanked the IMF TADAT Secretariat for its continued collaboration with WATAF, describing the partnership as a powerful investment in empowering tax authorities and boosting domestic revenue mobilisation across West Africa.
The official opening ceremony was chaired by the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Economy and Finance, in charge of Finance and Microfinance, Mr. Nicolas Yénoussi. It also brought together representatives of the Government of Benin, the Directorate General of Taxes of Benin, the WATAF Secretariat, the TADAT Secretariat, GIZ, development partners and participating tax administrations.
In his remarks, Minister Yénoussi described TADAT as more than a technical or academic exercise, stressing that it is a strategic management tool that helps tax administrations assess their performance objectively and identify what must be improved.
The TADAT programme provides participants with practical understanding of the methodology used to diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of tax administrations. It covers nine key performance outcome areas, including taxpayer registration, risk management, voluntary compliance, timely filing and payment, accuracy of reporting, dispute resolution, revenue management, accountability and transparency.
For WATAF, the value of the training goes beyond certification. It contributes to the creation of a regional pool of tax professionals with practical TADAT expertise, capable of supporting reforms, improving institutional performance and advancing evidence-based domestic revenue mobilisation across West Africa.
The Cotonou session also strengthens cooperation among member administrations by creating space for peer learning, exchange of experiences and deeper technical collaboration between Francophone and Anglophone tax systems in the region.
WATAF appreciates the Government of Benin and the Directorate General of Taxes of Benin for hosting the session, as well as GIZ, development partners, experts, focal points and all participating tax administrations for their support and strong commitment to the success of the programme.
Through this milestone, WATAF continues to demonstrate its central role in building stronger, more effective and more responsive tax administrations for sustainable development in West Africa.
About WATAF
The West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) is a regional body that brings together tax administrations across West Africa to strengthen domestic resource mobilization through cooperation, capacity development, and knowledge sharing. WATAF plays a leading role in shaping regional tax policy dialogue and supporting the modernization and harmonization of tax systems in line with regional and international standards.
