Prof Annet Oguttu from Unisa’s College of Law: Department of Mercantile Law
A Unisa College of Law professor, and expert in international tax law and tax treaties, has helped further position Unisa on the global knowledge production map.
Having recently being appointed by the UN DESA’s Development Financing office as one of 10 members of an expert group developing a UN course on double tax treaties, Prof Annet Oguttu’s expertise has not only positioned Unisa’s knowledge production globally, but has also positioned her as an esteemed international researcher.
The UN course, intended to develop knowledge capacity on tax treaties for tax administrators in developing countries, will certainly be impacted upon by Prof Oguttu’s contributions. Her work will especially help in enhancing capacity development in ministries of finance and tax authorities in the developing countries on tax treaties and related matters.
The experts enlisted for this UN capacity development programme are from across the globe, ranging from Canada, United Kingdom, India, Australia, Malaysia, Italy, Mexico, Norway and South Africa. Even more interesting is the fact that Prof Oguttu is the only expert enlisted from Africa, and the only woman in this group of international experts.
She proves, through this achievement, that contextualising one’s research is necessary; but this must be done with the aim of impacting globally as it ensures international recognition for an academic’s work; and draws focus to the issue at hand, as well as the higher education institution represented by the academic.
Having published several articles on the subject in various international journals, including three papers in the IBFD journals, specifically the Bulletin for International Taxation, ensured the attention of international gurus on tax law and tax treaties working on the UN Model Double Taxation Convention.
As extraordinary as this achievement is, Prof Oguttu remains truly humbly, and is inspired by such recognition. When asked about the key things she will learn out of this international engagement and recognition, she said “it will really sharpen her international tax law knowledge and exposure to tax treaties”.
At a personal level, Prof Oguttu feels a sense of approval, confidence, self-efficacy and self-worthiness for her knowledge production on the subject. She feels “humbled”, “excited” and “privileged” that international bodies such as the UN have been following and acknowledging the impact of her research to the development of the body of knowledge on this subject.
She said now that her research is under an international microscope, she is determined to focus even more on the quality and impact of her research outputs. “Often researchers work hard in their offices, doing their best to publish because that is one of the key performance areas a university requires of them. This is further encouraged by the funding that is given for their outputs. However, these institutional expectations often overshadow the bigger picture, sometimes causing one to underestimate the impact their research could have in changing national and international policies for the better.”
Indeed, one of the key measures of the knowledge economy is not just the production of new knowledge but also the impact of such knowledge, agrees Prof Oguttu.
* Story written by Benny Phaladi
