Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI)

Dr Titilola Akindeinde has about 20 years of experience in Economic Policy and Strategy in the UK and Nigeria. She has a proven track record as a UK government economist, a consultant providing technical support to the Government of Nigeria, and as Team Leader/Programme Manager implementing FCDO funded Policy Development Facility (PDF) programmes, where she demonstrated success in leadership, programme management, strategic thinking and engagement, analytical decision making, economic analysis, and policy and strategy development. She has led teams and consultants in economic and governmental interventions and communicated the results effectively to various stakeholders and audiences. Dr Akindeinde has a highly developed political awareness, understanding of economic policies and growth, and wide-reaching networks through her experience working at a high level within government. This awareness underscores her ability to use political judgement and sensitivity in managing relationships with senior government and private sector actors as evidenced in her leadership of PDF.

Dr Wilson Prichard is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and Department of Political Science, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, Executive Director of the ICTD and Chair of the LoGRI program. His research focuses on the political economy of tax reform in lower-income countries and the relationship between taxation and citizen demands for improved governance in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr Colette Nyirakamana is Research Lead for the LoGRI program, and Senior Research Associate at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on local finances, in particular the building of fiscal autonomy in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) subnational governments. She studies the reasons why, despite the significant potential of financial resources, SSA cities fail to raise enough revenue. Colette’s research draws on institutional and political economy theories to show how institutional rules and incentives and local political dynamics create favourable and unfavourable conditions for effective revenue mobilisation. Her research highlights how weak fiscal autonomy limits the capacity of cities to finance public services valued by citizens. She completed her doctoral degree in Comparative Public Policy at McMaster University in Canada.

Ann Perry is director of administration at the Local Government Revenue Initiative. She previously served as associate director and communications lead at Medicine by Design, the largest grant-funded program at the University of Toronto (U of T), and as speech writer for the dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. She spent 10 years as a journalist at the Toronto Star, and has also held communications roles at the Ontario government and The United Church of Canada.

Moyo Arewa is based at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy in Toronto. He is responsible for supporting the management and implementation of the ICTD’s research and capacity building programmes, as well as helping to advance several programmes, including the African Property Tax Initiative, a new programme on taxation and digitalisation, and expanded engagement with civil society organisations. Prior to joining ICTD, he was a Policy Development Officer at the City of Toronto. Moyo received his Master’s degree from the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

Nicolas Orgeira is working as a consultant Research Associate, primarily on tax perception in Sierra Leone and on tax burden in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Prior to joining the ICTD, Nicolas worked on survey implementation in Ghana, France and Burkina Faso for two years, in various capacities. His work included topics ranging from early child development to local governance.

Graeme Stewart-Wilson is a PhD student in Political Science at the University of Toronto and a researcher with ICTD. His research focuses on the political dynamics of subnational tax reform in sub-Saharan Africa.

Marie-Reine Mukazayire is pursuing her Masters of Global Affairs at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. Both academically and professionally, she is interested in learning about the ways sub-Saharan states can pursue financial and economic decolonization. She hopes to investigate and understand how these countries can develop state capacity to address socio-economic inequalities while promoting human-centric sustainable growth.
Marie-Reine graduated with distinction from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor in International Relations and Development.

Marly Augustine is a Policy Analyst and Program Coordinator for LoGRI’s property tax assessment and pilot project in Zambia. She is currently pursuing a Master of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. Prior to her studies and work with LoGRI, Marly was working in the humanitarian and development sectors for more than 10 years with international and non-governmental organizations in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. She has assumed roles in program management, monitoring and evaluation, communications, and grant writing and management. Marly holds an MSc in Migration Studies from the University of Oxford and a BA in Government from Georgetown University.

Paul Fish has been assisting local government initiatives to mobilise revenues through property tax reform since 2006. As part of a team Paul has developed and implemented a reform program as well as directing dedicated software to administer those reforms. He has worked in Sierra Leone, Malawi, Senegal, Ghana, and Uganda. Paul draws on his earlier property valuation experience as principal of consultants Altus Group based in Toronto, Canada.