- +447403143065 / +254758033301
Lyla Latif
University of Nairobi, Law Faculty, Faculty Member
- University of Warwick, Warwick Law School, Faculty Memberadd
- Public Goods, Public Finance, Political Science and Public Administration, Socio Economic Rights, Islamic Finance, International Political Economy, Financial Markets, Corporate Law, and 77 moreLaw, Social and Political Theories of Justice & Human Rights, Development Theories And Policies, Finance, Public Health, Health Policy, Tax Policy, Health Care, Health Law, Development and Governance, Participatory Decision Making, The Right to Health, Health Equity, Anti-money laundering, Health Systems, Tax Evasion, Tax Avoidance, Post-2015 Development Agenda, Marginalised Groups, Capital flight, Shared Responsibility Under International Law, Tax Amnesties, Africa, Zakat, Financial Engineering, Legislative Drafting, International Taxation, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Digital Currency, Blockchain Technologies, Bitcoins, Climate Finance, Domestic Resource Mobilisation, Advanced Pricing Agreement, Data Mining, Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, Kenya, United Kingdom, User Participation, India, African Union, Value Creation, Taxation Law, OECD countries, Digital Taxation, Politics, OECD, End Users, BEPS - Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, Access to Justice, Local communities, Human Rights Violations, Mining Corporation, financial remedies, Maximum Available Resources, Islamic Taxation, ICESCR, Global Health, Health and Human Rights, Migration and undocumented migrants, Revenue Management, Elections, Internal Conflicts and Security, Taxation, Health, Health Financing, Bangladesh, Universal Health Coverage, Tax Law, Constitutional Law, Budget, Fiscal policy, Right to Education, Right to Adequate Food and Nutrition, and Progressive realisationedit
- Lyla Latif is a Kenyan qualified lawyer and legislative draftsperson. Her legal practice is focused around corporate ... moreLyla Latif is a Kenyan qualified lawyer and legislative draftsperson. Her legal practice is focused around corporate (re)structuring, negotiating contracts, drafting of asset backed securities and investment agreements. She litigates around legal challenges arising out of those practice areas and has previously also practised criminal law in Tanzania. Outside of practice, Lyla also provides consultancy work to international organisations and NGOs on domestic revenue mobilisation, the taxation of digital business models and curbing criminal aspects of illicit financial flows. She is currently a faculty member at Warwick Law School and has previously taught at University of Nairobi and at Cardiff University in the UK (2018-2021).
Research
Lyla’s research is focused on the physical and digital aspects of domestic revenue mobilisation and the closing of revenue leakages. She considers the role of constitutional, African and Islamic fiscal systems approach to financing development. Her work takes a heterodox critique to mainstream colonial influenced fiscal regimes and their approach to development. She is currently supporting the UN Independent Expert on Debt and Human Rights and the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa on developing proposals to combat corruption and money laundering in Africa.
Awards
She received the Vice Chancellor's Scholarship for Research Excellence from Cardiff University to study how the norms of independent fiscal systems can strengthen the progressive achievement of the right to health.
Membership
She is a member of the Africa Knowledge Network constituted by the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, Law and Development Research Network, American Political Science Association, UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab, Young Scholars Initiative (UNCTAD), and is a certified Associate Fellow with Advance HE (British professional recognition for university teachers).
Her ORCID details can be found at: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1081-0763edit
By focusing on Kenya, the chapter discusses how the post-colonial state continues to serve the interests of British and OECD capital. In maintain- ing the capitalist status quo, the Kenyan tax system continues to inhibit redistribution... more
By focusing on Kenya, the chapter discusses how the post-colonial state continues to serve the interests of British and OECD capital. In maintain- ing the capitalist status quo, the Kenyan tax system continues to inhibit redistribution towards welfare. To explain this further, the chapter starts by describing the colonial history of Kenya, explaining how fiscal issues were addressed and whether the colonial tax system fostered the vision of devel- oping a welfare system for its colony. It finds that the way in which people were taxed and governed in colonial Kenya was part of a conscious strategy to structure inequalities through the distribution of revenue away from financing welfare. It also finds that the colonial vision of a fiscal system set against the provision of welfare was continued by the subsequent independ- ent government of Kenya.
Research Interests:
This chapter uses Kenya and Uganda as its case studies to reveal how the colonial administration during independence reconstituted the exist- ing political and legal relations ‘in terms of imperatives and then gave them back to the people... more
This chapter uses Kenya and Uganda as its case studies to reveal how the colonial administration during independence reconstituted the exist- ing political and legal relations ‘in terms of imperatives and then gave them back to the people as their own’ (Fitzpatrick 1985, p. 479). This inevitably predisposed Kenya, Uganda and other Eastern African states to a particular pattern of economic development—where the burden of taxa- tion fell on the citizens, whereas the benefits from domestic resource extraction that were accrued were guaranteed for foreign investors. This may also explain why today, taxation is not entirely crafted on the realisa- tion of effective public policy delivery. The state is yet to match tax mobili- sation with the practical aspirations of the people, resulting in policy implementation deficits (see Onyango and Hyden 2021). Against this background, this chapter discusses how the colonial tax model adopted by the independent governments of Kenya and Uganda, as other former col- onies, ensured that the British colonial legacy remained intact and but- tressed from re-organisation to enhance the welfare aspirations of these countries. The chapter is structured as follows: it discusses the problem of an acquired post-colonial tax system pinpointing the inequalities that itintroduces. It then considers these inequalities in the context of tax asym- metries that distinguish between native and foreign capital in granting tax privileges. A discussion addressing the disconnect between the Kenyan and Ugandan tax policy and the achievement of social welfare follows before a conclusion. The chapter shows how despite incremental transfor- mations in response to the current contexts, the colonial tax system replaced by the Kenyan and Ugandan governments established a fiscal relationship that treated individuals according to class and economic structures, thereby restraining tax power in redistribution.
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By examining India’s role within South Asia’s security environment, this paper suggests how India’s relationship with Afghanistan’s new political regime under a ‘reformed’ Taliban will lead to security cooperation and gateways to economic... more
By examining India’s role within South Asia’s security environment, this paper suggests how India’s relationship with Afghanistan’s new political regime under a ‘reformed’ Taliban will lead to security cooperation and gateways to economic opportunities. The discussion is underpinned by an analysis of non-state actors from neighbouring jurisdictions, such as Pakistan, and China who pose a direct threat to the security of Indian interests. India being a key power player in the region relies on a stable Afghanistan and is therefore heavily vested in steering and overseeing political decisions by neighbouring states around peacebuilding, conflict management, and human security in the region. A discursive methodological approach based on country case study analysis provides the paper with the data needed to establish and explain what the security environment in the South Asian region looks like, the stakeholders, and political nuances that leave gaps for insecurity to thrive and upset vested interests. The contribution that the paper makes is to support policy direction towards entrenching stronger Indian and Afghan relations based on mutual strategic security and economic interests.
Research Interests:
Consequently, this chapter examines the opportunities and challenges that these judicial and non-judicial mechanisms provide to local African commu- nities to access financial compensation for human rights violations by the business... more
Consequently, this chapter examines the opportunities and challenges that these judicial and non-judicial mechanisms provide to local African commu- nities to access financial compensation for human rights violations by the business activities of the mining corporations. It also proposes legal innova- tions that are required to advance access to financial compensation in African states in light of the business and human rights norms conceptualised under the UNGPs. In so doing, the chapter reviews and analyses judicial and non-judicial approaches through which local African communities have tried to seek financial compensation and remedies against the violation of their human rights toevaluate the opportunities and challenges encountered by them. The chapter concludes by giving recommendations for improving the implementation of the UNGPs to strengthen support for local African communities seeking financial redress.
Research Interests:
By focusing on Kenya, the chapter discusses how the post-colonial state continues to serve the interests of British and OECD capital. In maintain- ing the capitalist status quo, the Kenyan tax system continues to inhibit redistribution... more
By focusing on Kenya, the chapter discusses how the post-colonial state continues to serve the interests of British and OECD capital. In maintain- ing the capitalist status quo, the Kenyan tax system continues to inhibit redistribution towards welfare. To explain this further, the chapter starts by describing the colonial history of Kenya, explaining how fiscal issues were addressed and whether the colonial tax system fostered the vision of devel- oping a welfare system for its colony. It finds that the way in which people were taxed and governed in colonial Kenya was part of a conscious strategy to structure inequalities through the distribution of revenue away from financing welfare. It also finds that the colonial vision of a fiscal system set against the provision of welfare was continued by the subsequent independ- ent government of Kenya.
Research Interests:
Implicit within the African fiscal architecture are embedded vulnerabilities to exogenous factors which challenge their domestic revenue mobilization (DRM) strategies. These DRM challenges are attributable to asymmetrical power... more
Implicit within the African fiscal architecture are embedded vulnerabilities to exogenous factors which challenge their domestic revenue mobilization (DRM) strategies. These DRM challenges are attributable to asymmetrical power relationships that exist within the international tax regime (ITR). The rules governing international taxation have largely been devised by developed countries resonating their own economic purposes, resulting in a regressive relationship that overlooks African perspectives in the creation of tax norms. Consequently, policymaking, and scholarship have focused extensively on curbing these power asymmetries that have resulted in vulnerable African tax systems. Continental and domestic approaches are now aligned towards fostering reform of the international tax regime to be more inclusive and participatory. This chapter adds voice to advocacy for the development of the ITR based on a triangular foundation of true inclusivity and interactionalism. The paper advocates for effective participation in the tax rules making process; reform-oriented agenda setting; and a deliberate materialization of outcomes that aim to strengthen tax revenue mobilization in developing countries (participation–agenda–outcomes). As a continent that consistently derives the negative revenue-to-GDP ratios, countries on the continent would, no doubt, derive more from a global tax system that pivots towards inclusivity and development.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Given the amount lost in Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), which is approximately USD483 billion (TJN 2021) and the global financial system's size, scale and level of sophistication, the argument for a shortage of financing for Sustainable... more
Given the amount lost in Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), which is approximately USD483 billion (TJN 2021) and the global financial system's size, scale and level of sophistication, the argument for a shortage of financing for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063 seems flawed. This may be partly because global finance is rarely channelled towards sustainable development at the scale and speed required to achieve the SDGs and support Agenda 2063. In particular, the financial sector and its current technological forms (FinTech) is in a central position to influence global and continental agendas by reorganising global financial
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Is health in Kenya adequately financed? Relatedly, is there a need for additional sources of revenue to fund health? The limited resources that are available to the Kenyan government are prioritised in the budget that earmarks how much is... more
Is health in Kenya adequately financed? Relatedly, is there a need for additional sources of revenue to fund health? The limited resources that are available to the Kenyan government are prioritised in the budget that earmarks how much is to be allocated to each public sector. Regrettably, health financing has been on a reducing scale and the government is considering ways to broaden its revenuebase for financing health. This policy brief picks up on the argument of limited resources and posits Islamic taxation as an alternative source of revenue potentially available to the Kenyan government for financinghealth. Scholars have considered the argument of limited resources from the lens of prioritisation – that is the need to make the best possible use of these limited resources to continually improve the well-being of society and increase the revenue in the long term. Other scholars have posited that the argument on limited resources is to be examined by inquiring into different ways...
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Economics, Africa, Taxation, Global Health, Legitimacy, and 15 moreResource Allocation, Health insurance, International Cooperation, Health, Health Financing, Fiscal policy, Medicine, The Right to Health, Humans, Health Policies, Revenue, Healthcare Financing, Taxes, Public health systems and services research, and Global Health Financing
The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract Scholarship on international health law is currently pushing the boundaries while taking stock of achievements made over the past few decades.... more
The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract Scholarship on international health law is currently pushing the boundaries while taking stock of achievements made over the past few decades. However despite the forward thinking approach of scholars working in the field of global health one area remains a stumbling block in the path to achieving the right to health universally: the financing of heath. This paper uses the book Global Health Law by Larry Gostin to reflect and take stock of the fiscal support provided to the right to health from both a global and an African perspective. It then sets out the key fiscal challenges facing global and African health and proposes an innovative solution for consideration: use of the domestic principles of tax to design the global health financing system.
Research Interests: Africa, Taxation, Global Health, Legitimacy, Resource Allocation, and 15 moreHealth insurance, International Cooperation, Health, Health Financing, Fiscal policy, The Right to Health, Humans, Health Policies, Revenue, Healthcare Financing, Taxes, Scholarship, Public health systems and services research, Global Health Financing, and World Health Organization
Tax avoidance and evasion are deeply entrenched in Bangladesh, where 37% of GDP comes from ‘black money’. In this country of massive tax evasion, black money is not seen as tax evasion. Instead, tax amnesties are offered to whiten black... more
Tax avoidance and evasion are deeply entrenched in Bangladesh, where 37% of GDP comes from ‘black money’. In this country of massive tax evasion, black money is not seen as tax evasion. Instead, tax amnesties are offered to whiten black money in an attempt to raise funds that revenue collectors would otherwise have found difficult or impossible to capture. The evidence on which this policy brief builds was obtained through field research, interviews in particular.
Research Interests:
This article argues that when a large part of a population has either limited or no access to social and economic resources as a result of government policy in redistributing revenue towards the capital, such concentrated redistribution... more
This article argues that when a large part of a population has either limited or no access to social and economic resources as a result of government policy in redistributing revenue towards the capital, such concentrated redistribution at the centralised level may become a key factor in sparking internal conflicts among the population living outside the capital. A state that does not share the national wealth and resource revenues equitably among its citizens therefore provides a platform to those who want to challenge the legitimacy of the state to engage in violence. Thus, the centralisation of revenue redistribution by a state may be seen as a potential factor that may lead to internal conflict especially in circumstances where high levels of poverty and unemployment in the country are widespread. Although such internal conflict may not necessarily be violent, centralised revenue redistribution may cause an uprising among the population and lead to a substantial change in the fo...
Research Interests:
This study examined the application of human rights principles in health policymaking and programming in Cherang’ any sub-county. This sub-county has suffered from long standing discrimination and exclusion from the progressive... more
This study examined the application of human rights principles in health policymaking and programming in Cherang’ any sub-county. This sub-county has suffered from long standing discrimination and exclusion from the progressive realization of the right to health. Its residents continue to live on less than USD 1 a day. Under the burden of income and redistribution inequality and inequity, they lack readily and easily available, accessible, acceptable and quality healthcare and health systems. This has been as a result of failure by the national government to include them in participating towards the formulation and making of health policy and towards the implementation of health programmes at the sub-county level which reflects the type of healthcare the residents require following basic healthcare. Further, the lack of financial and administrative accountability, along with the lack of governance transparency in the provision of healthcare towards the residents of the sub-county, h...
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Mining corporations in Africa stand accused of violating human rights. This article gives a voice to the plight suffered by local African communities in accessing justice to remedy the violation of their human rights as a result of the... more
Mining corporations in Africa stand accused of violating human rights. This article gives a voice to the plight suffered by local African communities in accessing justice to remedy the violation of their human rights as a result of the business activities of mining corporations. It focuses specifically on the right to access justice in order to ask whether the affected communities get a fair and effective share of financial remedies to mitigate against the violation of their rights to health, clean environment and property. It examines two separate and independent avenues through which local communities access justice and asks which of the two, judicial or non-judicial approaches, guarantee these local communities a right to be heard and a recourse to financial remedies.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Finance, Human Rights, Economic Growth, Political Science, Global Health, and 15 moreHealth Equity, Kenya, Medicine, Refugees, Health and Human Rights, Humans, Millennium Development Goals, Refugee, Migration and undocumented migrants, Right to Health, Public health systems and services research, HUMAN MEDICINE, Equity Law, Health Services Accessibility, and guidelines as topic
Research Interests: Economics, Africa, Taxation, Global Health, Legitimacy, and 15 moreResource Allocation, Health insurance, International Cooperation, Health, Health Financing, Fiscal policy, Medicine, Humans, Health Policies, Revenue, Healthcare Financing, Taxes, Scholarship, Public health systems and services research, and Global Health Financing
Research Interests: Law, Economics, Human Rights, Economic Growth, Global Health, and 15 moreCase Studies, Developing Countries, International Cooperation, Medicine, Maternal Mortality, Humans, Millennium Development Goals, Female, Mdgs Goals, Goals, Displacement, International Community, Communicable disease control, HUMAN MEDICINE, and Paediatrics and reproductive medicine
Research Interests: Human Rights, Health Care, Economic Growth, Political Science, Global Health, and 15 moreHealth Law, Public Health, Health Policy, Medicine, Immigrants and Emigrants, Refugees, Health Systems, The Right to Health, Policy making, Humans, Migrants, Right to Health, UHC, Post-2015 Development Agenda, and Medical and Health Sciences
Research Interests: Finance, Human Rights, Health Care, Political Science, Global Health, and 15 moreInternational Cooperation, Health Equity, Health Policy, Medicine, Humans, Millennium Development Goals, Female, Marginalised Groups, Participatory Decision Making, Mdgs Goals, International health, International Health, Health Priorities, Minimum core obligations, and Health Services Accessibility
Research Interests:
This paper addresses the challenges of taxing the digital economy and offers potential solutions towards aligning the digital economy by redefining the tax rules governing traditional businesses. The methodology employed is purely... more
This paper addresses the challenges of taxing the digital economy and offers potential solutions towards aligning the digital economy by redefining the tax rules governing traditional businesses. The methodology employed is purely descriptive and explanatory highlighting specific countries and their approach to taxing the digital economy. The literature addressed in the paper focuses on recent government responses in highlighting the problem with digital taxation and identifying the key areas requiring policy recommendations, which the paper then offers to provide. Although several academic works have addressed the challenges of taxing the digital economy, there has been little systematic description on what policy recommendations ought to be made that would provide an effective template for developing African countries to rely on in enacting their own laws. This paper amends this omission.
This paper addresses the challenges of taxing the digital economy. It promotes digital taxation to reign in the digital economy as part of a state's taxable base and economic structure. It supports the redefinition of the tax rules... more
This paper addresses the challenges of taxing the digital economy. It promotes digital taxation to reign in the digital economy as part of a state's taxable base and economic structure. It supports the redefinition of the tax rules governing traditional businesses to include the taxable features of the digital economy. The paper advocates for unilateral tax measures to enable developing African states capture the digitally enabled movement of money. The paper's methodology is built around the doctrinal method alongside the process of deductive reasoning. Specific countries and their approach to taxing the digital economy is highlighted with the intention of comparing their fiscal regimes approach to unilateral tax measures targeting the digital economy. The literature addressed in the paper focuses on recent international and government responses in highlighting the problem with digital taxation and identifying the key areas requiring policy recommendations, which the paper then offers to provide. Although several academic works and the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) discussion papers have addressed the challenges of taxing the digital economy, there has been little focus on describing the sort of policy recommendations that could effectively guide developing African countries to rely on in enacting their own laws to target the taxation of cross-border digital corporations. This paper offers some of these policy recommendations.
Research Interests:
''Rights are not moral fruits that spring up from bare earth, fully ripened, without cultivation.'' They must be adequately financed. Rights are concerned with action. Consequently, rights can be possessed, enjoyed, exercised, claimed,... more
''Rights are not moral fruits that spring up from bare earth, fully ripened, without cultivation.'' They must be adequately financed. Rights are concerned with action. Consequently, rights can be possessed, enjoyed, exercised, claimed, demanded and asserted. They can also be limited and violated. As such, rights result in correlative duties. In other words, every right has a duty and every duty a right, as with Hohfeld's claim right. But, do rights always entail a corresponding duty? The answer will depend on the types of duty we believe are necessary to uphold a right. Can we then say that there is a duty to finance the right to health? Should this duty to finance be precisely set out in law?
Research Interests: Human Rights, Sustainable Development, Health insurance, Public Health, Health Policy, and 10 moreKenya, Health Financing, Independence, Decentralization, The Right to Health, Colonisation, Innovative Development Finance, Universal Health Coverage, Public Policy, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
In 2001 the African heads of state met in Abuja and agreed to allocate a minimum of 15 per cent of their budgets to health care in order to meet the needs of their citizens and towards the achievement of better health. However, this does... more
In 2001 the African heads of state met in Abuja and agreed to allocate a minimum of 15 per cent of their budgets to health care in order to meet the needs of their citizens and towards the achievement of better health. However, this does not take into account the specific health sector spending decisions and health equity within a state’s population. This paper attempts to make a first analysis of the terms progressive realization and state responsibility in the context of health equity. The difficulties in conceptualizing and achieving human rights and health will be canvassed. The paper will finally focus on the Kenyan
state’s duty and responsibility in progressively achieving health in the context of article 43 of the Kenyan Constitution of 2010, which includes health care and services under state responsibility and article 172 which maintains a strong state control on finances. The result of which is while there is a strong health equity based constitutional provision, the 2013/2014 national budget did allocated only 5.9% of the state budget to health underscoring the need to make a stronger link between state responsibility as evidenced through the fiscal regime and progressive realization.
Article on pages 127-142.
state’s duty and responsibility in progressively achieving health in the context of article 43 of the Kenyan Constitution of 2010, which includes health care and services under state responsibility and article 172 which maintains a strong state control on finances. The result of which is while there is a strong health equity based constitutional provision, the 2013/2014 national budget did allocated only 5.9% of the state budget to health underscoring the need to make a stronger link between state responsibility as evidenced through the fiscal regime and progressive realization.
Article on pages 127-142.
Research Interests:
Finance is, as it were, the stomach of the country, from which all other organs take their tone. One such organ is the public healthcare sector. Healthcare financing in Kenya continues to remain underfunded. The problem of limited... more
Finance is, as it were, the stomach of the country, from which all other organs take their tone. One such organ is the public healthcare
sector. Healthcare financing in Kenya continues to remain underfunded. The problem of limited finances is not new, it flows out of Kenya’s
colonial past and government’s arguments are clothed in clichés: the budget is not sufficient to meet all financing needs for the country and
so, health spending must be limited. At independence, Kenya targeted growth as the primary driver of development and relegated spending on
healthcare until growth was stabilised. This political ideology framed as African Socialism that explains directing finances towards economic
growth at the expense of healthcare financing has resulted in a health sector that is unevenly distributed to favour urban areas at the expense
of the poor rural and suffers from a dearth of essential medicines, and unavailable dispensaries and health centres at local community levels.
The health budget since 2010 has also been regressing with government placing reliance on user fees and out of pocket payments for health
needs to be covered. The current revenue streams are incapable of generating additional taxes without burdening the poor. At the global level there are calls for alternative health financing strategies. This paper responds to that call by identifying a potential revenue base for the Kenyan government: zakat.
sector. Healthcare financing in Kenya continues to remain underfunded. The problem of limited finances is not new, it flows out of Kenya’s
colonial past and government’s arguments are clothed in clichés: the budget is not sufficient to meet all financing needs for the country and
so, health spending must be limited. At independence, Kenya targeted growth as the primary driver of development and relegated spending on
healthcare until growth was stabilised. This political ideology framed as African Socialism that explains directing finances towards economic
growth at the expense of healthcare financing has resulted in a health sector that is unevenly distributed to favour urban areas at the expense
of the poor rural and suffers from a dearth of essential medicines, and unavailable dispensaries and health centres at local community levels.
The health budget since 2010 has also been regressing with government placing reliance on user fees and out of pocket payments for health
needs to be covered. The current revenue streams are incapable of generating additional taxes without burdening the poor. At the global level there are calls for alternative health financing strategies. This paper responds to that call by identifying a potential revenue base for the Kenyan government: zakat.
Research Interests:
This paper addresses the challenges of taxing the digital economy and offers potential solutions towards aligning the digital economy with the tax rules governing traditional businesses in the interim while specific digital tax laws are... more
This paper addresses the challenges of taxing the digital economy and offers potential solutions towards aligning the digital economy with the tax rules governing traditional businesses in the interim while specific digital tax laws are being deliberated on at a political level. The methodology employed is purely descriptive and explanatory following review of country case studies in regulating the tax challenges resulting out of the digital economy. The literature addressed in the paper focuses on recent government responses in highlighting the problem with taxing the digital economy and identifying what key areas need policy recommendations, which the paper then offers to provide. Although several academic works have addressed the challenges of taxing the digital economy, there has been little systematic description on what policy recommendations ought to be made that would provide an effective template for developing African countries to rely on in enacting their own laws. This paper amends this omission.
Research Interests:
Mining corporations in Africa stand accused of violating human rights. This article gives a voice to the plight suffered by local African communities in accessing justice to remedy the violation of their human rights as a result of the... more
Mining corporations in Africa stand accused of violating human rights. This article gives a voice to the plight suffered by local African communities in accessing justice to remedy the violation of their human rights as a result of the business activities of mining corporations. It focuses specifically on the right to access justice in order to ask whether the affected communities get a fair and effective share of financial remedies to mitigate against the violation of their rights to health, clean environment and property. It examines two separate and independent avenues through which local communities access justice and asks which of the two, judicial or non-judicial approaches, guarantee these local communities a right to be heard and a recourse to financial remedies.
Research Interests:
There exists no comprehensive definition on what constitutes " available resources " as envisaged under article 2.1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. There is also an absence of an extensive discourse... more
There exists no comprehensive definition on what constitutes " available resources " as envisaged under article 2.1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. There is also an absence of an extensive discourse on this definition beyond stating that it refers to both the resources existing within a state as well as those available from the international community through international cooperation and assistance. The definition does not recognize Islamic forms of taxation that are domestically available to an Islamic as well as a secular state. Accordingly, the problem identified in this explication is that of linking zakat, a form of Islamic taxation, to the concept and definition of maximum available resources. The book by Waris argues that there is a link between taxation and human rights (the right to health being among such rights). Waris pushes this proposition to the point of demonstrating the validity of the argument that rights require resources for their realization and subsequent enforcement, but she stops short of discussing the exact fiscal mechanism that could be used for the realization and enforcement of specific rights. This explication having identified this gap aims to advance an argument that allows for broadening the international community understands of what constitutes maximum available resources that a state can utilize to finance the right to health. It proposes the introduction of zakat as a potential method of mobilizing Financial resources domestically available and argues for its inclusion in the definition and scope of maximum available resources.
Research Interests:
Introduction: Under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), United Nations (UN) Member States reported progress on the targets toward their general citizenry. This focus repeatedly excluded marginalized ethnic and linguistic minorities,... more
Introduction: Under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), United Nations (UN) Member States reported progress on the targets toward their general citizenry. This focus repeatedly excluded marginalized ethnic and linguistic minorities, including people of refugee backgrounds and other vulnerable non-nationals that resided within a States' borders. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to be truly transformative by being made operational in all countries, and applied to all, nationals and non-nationals alike. Global migration and its diffuse impact has intensified due to escalating conflicts and the growing violence in war-torn Syria, as well as in many countries in Africa and in Central America. This massive migration and the thousands of refugees crossing borders in search for safety led to the creation of two-tiered, ad hoc, refugee health care systems that have added to the sidelining of non-nationals in MDG-reporting frameworks.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This paper argues that when a large part of a population has either limited or no access to social and economic resources as a result of government policy in redistributing revenue towards the capital, such concentrated redistribution at... more
This paper argues that when a large part of a population has either limited or no access to social and economic resources as a result of government policy in redistributing revenue towards the capital, such concentrated redistribution at the centralized level may then become a key factor in sparking internal conflicts from the population living outside the capital. A state that does not share the national wealth and resource revenues equitably among its citizens therefore provides a platform to those who want to challenge the legitimacy of the state to engage in violence. Thus, the centralization of revenue redistribution by a state may be seen as a potential factor that may lead to internal conflict especially in circumstances where the levels of poverty and unemployment in the country are widespread. However, such internal conflict may not necessarily be violent, but may cause an uprising among the population to the extent that causes a substantial change in the form of government, moving it from a centralized to a decentralized form of government to appease the population and for the state to retain its legitimacy. Such was the case in Kenya.
Research Interests:
Scholarship on international health law is currently pushing the boundaries while taking stock of achievements made over the past few decades. However despite the forward thinking approach of scholars working in the field of global health... more
Scholarship on international health law is currently pushing the
boundaries while taking stock of achievements made over the past few decades. However despite the forward thinking approach of scholars working in the field of global health one area remains a stumbling block in the path to achieving the right to
health universally: the financing of heath. This paper uses the book Global Health Law by Larry Gostin to reflect and take stock of the fiscal support provided to the right to health from both a global and an African perspective. It then sets out the key
fiscal challenges facing global and African health and proposes an innovative solution for consideration: use of the domestic principles of tax to design the global health financing system.
boundaries while taking stock of achievements made over the past few decades. However despite the forward thinking approach of scholars working in the field of global health one area remains a stumbling block in the path to achieving the right to
health universally: the financing of heath. This paper uses the book Global Health Law by Larry Gostin to reflect and take stock of the fiscal support provided to the right to health from both a global and an African perspective. It then sets out the key
fiscal challenges facing global and African health and proposes an innovative solution for consideration: use of the domestic principles of tax to design the global health financing system.
Research Interests:
The current socio-economic and political context of Bangladesh makes the country particularly vulnerable to illegal transfer of assets outside the country as a result of which Bangladesh faces a range of money laundering threats. The most... more
The current socio-economic and political context of Bangladesh makes the country particularly
vulnerable to illegal transfer of assets outside the country as a result of which Bangladesh faces a
range of money laundering threats. The most common offences generating substantial criminal
proceeds, which are the main sources of money laundering are: bribery, abuse of public office,
securities fraud, embezzlement, human trafficking, extortion, and drug trafficking. However,
Bangladeshi authorities highlight corruption, drug trafficking and human trafficking as the most
serious sources of illegal transfer of money. According to the estimate of World Bank national
proceeds of corruption is worth more than 3% of GDP. In addition to the above the location of
Bangladesh in between the golden triangle and golden crescent makes it further vulnerable to
illegal inflow and outflow of assets/money. The prevalent insurgencies, extremism and terrorist
activities in countries around Bangladesh also cause trafficking of arms through Bangladesh
increasing the potential of money laundering from Bangladesh. In light of the foregoing, Bangladesh became a founder member of the Anti-Money Laundering Group in the Asia Pacific Group (APG) and for 5 years after 2002, Bangladesh was supporting the enactment of Anti-Money Laundering laws. This paper analysis Bangladesh's international stand on AML and subsequent issue of tax amnesties and the impact they have on AML.
vulnerable to illegal transfer of assets outside the country as a result of which Bangladesh faces a
range of money laundering threats. The most common offences generating substantial criminal
proceeds, which are the main sources of money laundering are: bribery, abuse of public office,
securities fraud, embezzlement, human trafficking, extortion, and drug trafficking. However,
Bangladeshi authorities highlight corruption, drug trafficking and human trafficking as the most
serious sources of illegal transfer of money. According to the estimate of World Bank national
proceeds of corruption is worth more than 3% of GDP. In addition to the above the location of
Bangladesh in between the golden triangle and golden crescent makes it further vulnerable to
illegal inflow and outflow of assets/money. The prevalent insurgencies, extremism and terrorist
activities in countries around Bangladesh also cause trafficking of arms through Bangladesh
increasing the potential of money laundering from Bangladesh. In light of the foregoing, Bangladesh became a founder member of the Anti-Money Laundering Group in the Asia Pacific Group (APG) and for 5 years after 2002, Bangladesh was supporting the enactment of Anti-Money Laundering laws. This paper analysis Bangladesh's international stand on AML and subsequent issue of tax amnesties and the impact they have on AML.
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The present Millennium Development Goals are set to expire in 2015 and their next iteration is now being discussed within the international community. With regards to health, the World Health Organization proposes universal health... more
The present Millennium Development Goals are set to expire in 2015 and their next iteration is now being discussed within the international community. With regards to health, the World Health Organization proposes universal health coverage as a ‘single overarching health goal’ for the next iteration of the Millennium Development Goals.
The present Millennium Development Goals have been criticised for being ‘duplicative’ or even ‘competing alternatives’ to international human rights law. The question then arises, if universal health coverage would indeed become the single overarching health goal, replacing the present health-related Millennium Development Goals, would that be more consistent with the right to health? The World Health Organization seems to have anticipated the question, as it labels universal health coverage as “by definition, a practical expression of the concern for health equity and the right to health”.
Rather than waiting for the negotiations to unfold, we thought it would be useful to verify this contention, using a comparative normative analysis. We found that – to be a practical expression of the right to health – at least one element is missing in present authoritative definitions of universal health coverage: a straightforward confirmation that international assistance is essential, not optional.
But universal health coverage is a ‘work in progress’. A recent proposal by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network proposed universal health coverage with a set of targets, including a target for international assistance, which would turn universal health coverage into a practical expression of the right to health care.
The present Millennium Development Goals have been criticised for being ‘duplicative’ or even ‘competing alternatives’ to international human rights law. The question then arises, if universal health coverage would indeed become the single overarching health goal, replacing the present health-related Millennium Development Goals, would that be more consistent with the right to health? The World Health Organization seems to have anticipated the question, as it labels universal health coverage as “by definition, a practical expression of the concern for health equity and the right to health”.
Rather than waiting for the negotiations to unfold, we thought it would be useful to verify this contention, using a comparative normative analysis. We found that – to be a practical expression of the right to health – at least one element is missing in present authoritative definitions of universal health coverage: a straightforward confirmation that international assistance is essential, not optional.
But universal health coverage is a ‘work in progress’. A recent proposal by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network proposed universal health coverage with a set of targets, including a target for international assistance, which would turn universal health coverage into a practical expression of the right to health care.
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Socio economic rights are to be realised progressively through the allocation of adequate financial resources and by the setting up of infrastructure county-wide. Consequently, the Kenyan government is to... more
Socio economic rights are to be realised progressively through the allocation of adequate financial resources and by the setting up of infrastructure county-wide. Consequently, the Kenyan government is to allocate the maximum of its available resources towards the realisation of these rights. In the event the state fails to allocate the maximum of its available resources to realising these rights, it shall be considered to be in violation of the ICESCR under the Maastricht Guidelines on violations of economic, social and cultural rights. However the sources of government revenue come from taxation and other forms of state revenue and are split between many needs of both recurrent and development expenditure. This is the background against which this paper shall discuss financing the progressive realisation of socio economic rights in Kenya.
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Presented during the International Tax Justice Academy 2019 in Dakar, Senegal
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This was part of my presentation made at the International Tax Justice Academy, 2019 held in Dakar, Senegal. The aim was to train participants (MPs, Civil Society, Researchers, Lawyers, Auditors, Accountants) on what wealth and property... more
This was part of my presentation made at the International Tax Justice Academy, 2019 held in Dakar, Senegal. The aim was to train participants (MPs, Civil Society, Researchers, Lawyers, Auditors, Accountants) on what wealth and property tax means, how to identify it, its threshold, the property tax system, the challenges around imposing and/or retaining property taxation etc.
Research Interests: Africa, Taxation, Property, Customary Law, Land Law, and 3 moreWealth, African land tenure, and Taxes
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This disquisition examines whether taxes played any role in promoting economic development in African democracies. The rationale for this notion lies in the fact that many theorists have demonstrated a causal link between democracy,... more
This disquisition examines whether taxes played any role in promoting economic development in African democracies. The rationale for this notion lies in the fact that many theorists have demonstrated a causal link between democracy, economic development and taxation, arguing that democratic institutions foster economic development as a result of effective tax policies. Taxes in non-democracies, the theorists have argued, are usurped by autocrats who utilize these taxes for their own agenda instead of redistributing these taxes towards the provision of public goods, which would in turn positively impact upon economic development. Accordingly, in order to test this phenomenon, a comparative assessment was done by inquiring into how much of taxes in both African democracies and non- democracies were collected, and how much of these taxes made up their GDP. GDP is taken as the dependent variable to show the extent of a country’s rate of economic development. Therefore, the hypothesis that followed as a result, sought to investigate into whether progressive increases in taxes over a period of years led to economic development.
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Writing is listening to yourself, on paper. When you write, you are telling a story. This is a brief guide to the PhD writing process.
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This is a brief guide for all those researching on their PhD and for those hoping to start working on their PhDs in the future. It is basically advice by a PhD researcher to PhD researchers! Want to know what a PhD is all about? Read on.