Dr. Monkam presented a joint paper entitled “Property Taxation in Africa: A Status Report,” with Prof Riël Franzsen. The paper presents a broad overview of research work in progress based on a comprehensive survey of property-related taxes in Africa. Although the scope of this project included the gathering of data on all “property-related taxes”, this paper focuses only on “property tax” defined in the narrow sense. The preliminary conclusion stemming from the county reports that have been compiled to date indicates that if property tax is to provide a reliable and adequate source of revenue for municipalities, many if not most African countries indeed still face major challenges. Overall, the rationality and administrative feasibility of some property tax policies and the legislation currently in place in most African countries must indeed be questioned.

This conference gathered real estate developers, professionals, government delegations and the academics from all over the world, including the users of real estate services to explore real estate investment opportunities with relevance to developing countries in Africa.

The African Real Estate Society (AfRES) was established in 1997 as a regional real estate society under the International Real Estate Society (IRES). It is also affiliated to sister societies in North America (ARES), Asia (AsRES), Europe (ERES), the Pacific Rim (PRRES) and Latin America (LaRES).