Former Seychelles Revenue Commission chief elected chairperson of ATAF Women in Tax Network

Herminie was elected at the AWITN board meeting on November 23. (Seychelles Revenue Commission)

Seychellois taxation expert Veronique Herminie is the new chairperson of the board of the African Tax Association Forum (ATAF) Women in Tax Network (AWITN) based in Pretoria, South Africa, said the Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC) in a communique on Tuesday.

Herminie, the former commissioner general of SRC, was elected at the AWITN board meeting on November 23, following a workshop held under the theme "Reducing Gender Inequality in Africa."

The AWITN Board has 10 members with three from the ATAF member countries and the remaining members from academia, civil society, the private sector and the ATAF Secretariat. It meets at least twice a year.

Herminie has been a founding member of the Board of AWITN since it was founded by the ATAF in March 2021 as part of the Women's Day activities for that year.

Taxation and gender equality are two issues of strategic importance to developing countries and particularly to Africa. Tax is considered as one of the most potent tools to reduce the inequality gap between the rich and poor as well as between men and women.

It is for this reason that the ATAF launched the AWITN as a platform that represents and connects African women working in taxation.

Participants at the workshop held under the theme "Reducing Gender Inequality in Africa". (Seychelles Revenue Commission) Photo License: CC-BY

The network provides a formal environment for women working in tax and tax related fields in Africa in different capacity, be it in public or private sector, to raise awareness of the potential impact tax policy may have on gender equality.

It also serves as a support platform at a more individual level to women in tax by facilitating mentoring programmes and other professional development opportunities for leadership.

SRC said that "Herminie being one of the mentors on the programme brings to the Board and the network not only her experience in taxation, but also in administration, management and leadership." 

"She has been very active over the past two and a half years on the Board, participating either as a Speaker or Moderator at the leadership and gender equality conferences," added SRC.

Herminie replaces Dr. Amelia Muendane, the president of the Mozambique Revenue Authority, as chairperson of the board of the AWITN.

The new chairperson of the AWITN was appointed on the interim board in March 2021 by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Trade.

Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, has been a member of ATAF since January 2011, alongside 36 other African states.