About The Chair Holder

	Nara Monkam has occupied the Chair in Municipal Finance in Africa since it was established on 1 March 2024. She is an Associate Professor of Economics and Head of the Public Policy Hub at the University of Pretoria.

Previously, she served as the Director of Research at the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), where she was a key member of the Executive Management Team. Under its leadership, ATAF grew to become the leading international organisation on tax matters in Africa. Representing over 74% of tax administrations on the continent since its inception in 2009, ATAF has been instrumental in advancing taxation’s role in governance, state-building and providing a voice for Africa on domestic and international tax issues. In this role, Prof Monkam directed the organisation’s research initiatives to inform tax policy and reforms across Africa. She also contributed as a member of the Davis Tax Committee, which evaluated the South African tax system.

She has more than 18 years of experience in research and policy analysis in Africa, specialising in public economics, domestic resource mobilisation, tax policy, tax administration, intergovernmental fiscal relations and property taxation reforms. Her scholarly and policy-oriented work includes long-term collaborations and advisory services with international institutions across multiple regions. She has also provided consultancy services to a range of bilateral and multilateral development organisations, enhancing their economic and fiscal policy frameworks.

Her contributions to taxation in Africa include launching the ATAF Databank to improve data quality and accessibility across 37 African countries, establishing the African Multidisciplinary Tax Journal (ATRN), and creating the African Tax Research Network (ATRN), a key resource with over 2000 experts. She also initiated the bilingual Executive Master’s in Taxation, graduating 86 tax officials from both Anglophone and Francophone Africa, and collaborated with the African Development Bank to produce two seminal guidebooks on enhancing ICT tax systems and informal sector taxation on the continent.

Prof Monkam holds a PhD degree in Economics from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University in Atlanta (USA) and both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics from the University of Namur in Belgium.

About The Chair in Municipal Finance in Africa

The Chair in Municipal Finance in Africa, housed within the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of Pretoria, was established on 1 March 2024. Supported by funding from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (LILP) in Cambridge, MA, USA, the Chair represents a significant commitment to advancing municipal finance across Africa. This initiative marks a crucial milestone in our pursuit of sustainable local development and enhanced financial governance. Dedicated to tackling the specific challenges faced by African cities and smaller municipalities, the Chair focuses on intergovernmental fiscal relations, property taxation, land-based revenue instruments, expenditure management and urban planning to effectively address these issues.

The Chair is set to have a substantial impact in three key areas: research and research collaboration, teaching and learning, and community engagement. Through transdisciplinary and innovative research, it will inform policy decisions and drive sustainable development across African cities. Additionally, the Chair will enhance municipal finance and taxation expertise in Africa by offering specialised courses and training programmes to local officials and scholars and by supervising doctoral students.

This initiative will facilitate collaboration between academia, government, and internationally acknowledged experts in this field, driving positive change at the grassroots level. The establishment of the Chair will contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 11, which aims to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. By improving fiscal decentralisation, enhancing the financial capacity of African municipalities and promoting sustainable local development, the Chair has the potential to improve the lives of millions across the continent. We invite academics, policymakers, development partners, stakeholders and communities to join us in this transformative journey.