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.

Moyo Arewa is the Programme Director for the Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI). He was previously the Manager for Strategic Initiatives at (ICTD) and, before then, a Policy Development Officer at the City of Toronto. His tax research has focused on understanding how digital technologies impact tax policy, administration, and public service delivery.

Nicolas Orgeira Pillai is a Research Officer with LoGRI. His research focuses on local revenue mobilisation, with a particular interest in property taxation and tax compliance. Through the use of impact evaluation approaches and quantitative analysis, his work aims to support tax administrations in implementing state-building tax reforms that improves governance and the relationship between the government and the citizens. His projects also relate to tax administration, gender and taxation, and the informal economy. He holds a Master in Economics at the University of Toronto and is a doctoral candidate in Economics at the University of Sussex.

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.

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.

Priyanka is the Communications and Events Officer for the Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI). She is responsible for developing the initiative’s engagement with external stakeholders and manages LoGRI’s communications, outreach, and knowledge translation mandate.

She has worked in the international development sector for over five years across communications, knowledge management, advocacy, and research roles. In her last role, she worked with Health Systems Global (HSG), where she helped manage HSG’s communications portfolio and deliver the Seventh Global Symposium on Health Systems Research (HSR2022) in Bogota, Colombia. Priyanka has extensive experience working with grassroots and global organizations in BMGF, USAID, and WHO-funded grants. Priyanka holds a BA (Hons) from University of Delhi, and a Master’s in Conflict, Security and Development from the University of Sussex.