The March 2017 tax tour was part of the Even It Up! and Make Tax Fair campaigns, organised by Oxfam and Action Aid, whose aim is to create awareness around the importance of tax justice and how this ties with the issues of inequality and the ability of developing countries to meet their developmental agendas through harnessing of all available resources. Taxation remains a key revenue resource mobilization tool for many countries across the globe.   Onyinyechi from Nigeria, myself and Sharon from Zambia, embarked on a two week journey through the UK and Ireland, speaking with Members of Parliament,…

I live in Nairobi, Kenya. A beautiful city. A city of many contradictions. A city of the haves and have nots. A drive around Nairobi demonstrates just that - from the leafy and upscale neighbourhoods of Karen, Lavington, Muthaiga and Gigiri, which houses the UN headquarters, to the sprawling slums of Kibera, Mukuru, Mathare, Kawangware and Kangemi, just to mention a few, where the majority of the Nairobians live. Nairobi can be deceptive - so much inequality can lie in such a small area. Take Lavington for example, a suburb located towards the North West part of Nairobi's Central Business…

Election season in Kenya started in January when the Jubilee and URP parties announced that they were merging into the Jubilee Alliance Party. This announcement caught observers by surprise. Many were impressed that the leadership of the two parties had managed to keep the machinations behind the merger secret for so long. It demonstrated cohesion and discipline. However, before long it became apparent that JAP was not an idea born of wide consultation and quickly ran into choppy political waters. It has additionally become clear that on the political front the strategy is to hold to power by any means…