With the recent adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the commitment of Africa to implement Agenda 2063, which is the continent’s development blueprint, domestic resource mobilization becomes a crucial issue. Given the background that most African countries did not fully achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) due to over- reliance on donor resources, enhancing domestic resource mobilization in Africa becomes a necessity. Domestic resource mobilization has two elements to its definition: the generation of savings and taxes on one hand and their allocation to economically and socially productive activities. Accountable states and institutions are crucial for the success of domestic resources mobilization initiatives and the curbing of illicit financial flows. However, while it is widely agreed that domestic resource mobilization is the way to go, the 2015 Africa Capacity Report shows that this may not be achieved because of one missing link: the capacity to do so. It highlights that the civil society, which consists of organized groups and institutions that are independent of the state, can play a leading role in bargaining with Government on behalf of the people around effective strategies for mobilizing domestic resource and curbing illicit financial flows in Africa.
