ABUJA, NIGERIA – Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) Senior Communications Officer, Daniel Ankrah, has called on communication heads of tax authorities across West Africa to leverage digital tools for enhanced taxpayer awareness and improved tax compliance.
Speaking as a panelist at the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) Conference for Communication Heads, Mr. Ankrah shared Liberia’s success stories on how digital communication strategies have significantly boosted taxpayer knowledge and compliance.
He further emphasized the need for communication leaders within tax administrations to train tax technicians in basic communication skills, ensuring that tax-related messaging is clear, effective, and widely understood.
The conference, held under the theme “Fostering Effective Communications for Institutional and Corporate Development in Tax Administrations: The Role of WATAF Focus Persons,” brought together participants from all 15 West African countries. Notably, it also featured, for the first time, a representative from the American Center for Tax Administration.
The two-day training aimed to strengthen communication strategies among tax authorities, facilitate experience-sharing, and address communication challenges. Key topics included designing effective advocacy campaigns, leveraging digital media for stakeholder engagement, collaborative strategy development, and crisis communication management.
Representing Liberia at the conference were Daniel Ankrah, Senior Communications Officer at LRA, and Yankoi Miller, Acting External Affairs Manager. Other Panelist included Wapinu Ndule, institutional development and Corporate Affairs Manager, WATAF, Soma Etienne, Head of Corporate Communications Department, Direction Generale des Impots (DGI), Burkina Faso, and Maari Sarr, Country Correspondent, Gambia Revenue Authority.
This training marks the first under WATAF’s new leadership and the 20th WATAF Conference Meeting. The tax communicators are expected to apply their newly acquired skills to strengthen communication strategies and implement digitalization initiatives, ultimately enhancing tax compliance and public engagement within their respective tax authorities.
WATAF continues to serve as a vital platform for regional cooperation, fostering innovative communication approaches that strengthen tax administration and revenue mobilization across West Africa.
