The African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC) has called for comprehensive reform of property taxation as a pathway to strengthening local revenue systems and financing sustainable urban development across African cities.
This was recommended by the Director of the Land Valuation Division, Lands Commission, Ghana, Theodora Mends, at a session hosted by ACRC at the African Real Estate Society (AfRES) conference held in Lagos.
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Ms Mends, during her presentation titled “Reforming Property Taxes for Equity and Inclusion in African Cities: The Way Forward”, said successful reforms must rest on four pillars of institutional capacity, fair valuation, political support, and visible benefits for citizens.
She argued that cities must embrace digital innovation to modernise property tax systems, recommending digital tools for property data collection and assessment, online portals for public access, mobile and web-based payment platforms, and community-based payment booths.
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She urged consistent public education campaigns, simplified payment processes, and incentives or rebates for early and regular payers to boost compliance.
Need for reform
According to Ms Mends, reforms should also introduce firm payment deadlines, sanctions for defaulters, user-friendly grievance redress mechanisms, and private-sector participation in valuation and revenue collection under structured public-private partnerships (PPPs).
She said property taxation is globally recognised as the primary source of funding for local development.
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In advanced economies, she noted, “it provides reliable revenue for schools, hospitals, public transport, security, waste management, and employment opportunities, particularly for young professionals.”
By contrast, she said African cities remain heavily under-reliant on this tool, with property tax accounting for just 0.38 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) across Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa averages between 0.1 and 1 per cent, compared with up to 2 per cent in high-income countries.
Ghana experiences
Highlighting Ghana’s initiatives, Ms Mends said the country has introduced a unified property rate platform, a revenue-sharing model through PPPs, a national property addressing system, and electronic mass property appraisal.
She noted, however, that challenges remain, including low coverage and weak compliance.
In Nigeria, she said reforms have focused on Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, digital payments, and improved administration. However, the system still suffers from incomplete property records, informality, inefficiency, and low enforcement.
Broader challenges across African cities, she observed, include outdated legislation, weak regulatory structures, poor transparency, limited public knowledge of assessment processes, and a lack of accountability among tax collectors.
Other barriers, she added, are obsolete valuation rolls, high and uneven tax rates, inadequate adoption of technology, and low collection efficiency.
She pointed to success stories from Freetown, Kampala, and Dakar, where authorities have deployed satellite imagery, drone data, mobile GIS, and Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) systems to create digital property registers and credible tax bases, even in areas with weak addressing systems or informal property markets.
Ms Mends concluded that reforming property taxation is central to achieving equitable, inclusive, and sustainable urban development in Africa, warning that without it, cities will struggle to finance basic services, reduce poverty, or keep pace with rapid urbanisation.
Panel discussion
Following Ms Mendes’ presentation was a panel session moderated by Esther Thontteh, the manager of the Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development at the University of Lagos (CHSD-UNILAG).
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The panel featured the Dean of the School of Environmental Science at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Olurotimi Kemiki; a Valuation and Investment specialist at Obafemi Awolowo University, Olusegun Ogunba; and Olaitan Olaoye of Gbenga Olaniyan and Associates.
The panellists echoed the urgency of reform, underscoring both the economic and social dimensions. They warned that speculative land banking in prime areas, such as Lagos, fuels scarcity, shuts out low-income earners, and advocated higher taxes on vacant plots.
They stressed that without comprehensive reforms, African cities will struggle to deliver essential infrastructure, reduce inequality, and manage rapid urbanisation.
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