The testimonials below are from some of the skilled tax and development professionals with whom I have worked over the years. These are from people that I would relish an opportunity to work with again should the opportunity present itself.
Martine Nibasumba
Country Director- LWF/ World Service (International NGO, HQ- Switzerland and in Burundi since 2006) and former Director Strategic Planning and Research at OBR (for 11 years)
“I had the immense opportunity to work closely with Kieran from 2010 to 2014 when he was the first ever OBR Commissioner General in Burundi. At that time, I was part of the Senior Management Team under his exemplary leadership.
He was able to set up a semi-autonomous tax administration in record time and from scratch, and brought bold and innovative reforms that doubled tax and customs revenues during his tenure. He is a strategic thinker, a visionary who brings real change.
He set up an appropriate structure adapted to the Burundi context, ensured transparent recruitment based solely on merit, and carried out a complete review of tax laws and procedures to create an environment that is conducive to the business climate in Burundi, with the support of the country's highest authorities.
He has also played a major role in the fight against fraud and corruption by drawing up and strictly enforcing a Code of Conduct.
Over and above his obvious professional qualities, he has excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to adapt to the context, which means that teams are easily united towards a common goal ”
Carlos Gutiérrez Puente
Senior Principal Associate at the IBFD Capacity Building Department
“I have had the pleasure of working closely with Kieran Holmes within the context of a comprehensive USAID assistance project for the Uganda Tax Authorities. As the project lead, Kieran's unwavering commitment and strategic leadership were pivotal to its success.
Under Kieran's guidance, IBFD conducted a two-year capacity-building assistance on direct and indirect taxation matters. Within this context, IBFD implemented the BEPS Assessment Tool (B.A.T.). The upcoming publication of the B.A.T. comprehensive report, a result of this endeavor, which has been heartily commended by URA and MOFPED, underscores Kieran's dedication and the project's significant results. Kieran's role in supporting the B.A.T. work, ensuring our smooth collaboration with the Uganda Tax Authorities, has been commendable. His proactive efforts have paved the way for impactful follow-up work.
Kieran's collaborative approach and excellent communication skills have fostered a positive working environment. I wholeheartedly recommend Kieran Holmes for his exceptional leadership and valuable contributions to the success of the USAID project.”
Magoola Besweri Kalyebbi
Tax Administration Specialist, USAID - Domestic Revenue Mobilization for Development (DRM4D)
“I joined DRM4D (Domestic Resource Mobilization for Development) first as a contractual staff, doing part-time work, and later as a full-time employee. The biggest surprise when I started working was that so much had been accomplished during the Covid-19 period, utilizing remote inputs from across the world.
Notable achievements attributable to Kieran:
Kieran finds time to get everyone contributing to DRM talking the same language and pulling in the same direction. This speaks to Development Partner coordination, for everyone and anyone engaged in DRM. Several initiatives that support DRM were initiated for URA and Local Government. An important creation is the Friends of URA, which brings together development partners interested in supporting the mobilization of revenue.
Kieran has managed to pull off the Fiscal Social Compact for the Cities, the first I have seen in Uganda, which brings together the city administration and political officials together with the stakeholders to discuss the needs and priorities of the city.
Kieran leads the fight against corruption and will stop at nothing to engage those concerned, even though the scourge is deep rooted.
Kieran has a way with words and the pen and writes as needed to address the needs of the occasion.
Kieran has helped to negotiate funding for activities that would have otherwise failed, by appealing to different stakeholders beyond the funders of DRM4D.”
Patrick Kandole
DRM4D Local Revenue Specialist
“This testimonial is written based on my working time as a Local Revenue Specialist under the USAID- Domestic Revenue Mobilization for Development (DRM4D) Activity since January 2021 to-date.
Kieran Holmes has worked for the USAID-(DRM4D) Activity for over four years. During that time, he exhibited excellent skills and tact in management of tax policy and tax administration issues in a climate high on political-economy challenges. He distinguished himself as a dedicated advisor in improving revenue volumes for the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and a select 10 cities in Uganda. Revenues for both entities improved by over 25% annually. Kieran ardently believed that good revenue streams are a consequence of high operations and systems integrity and strongly advocated for integrity drive within the URA and cities. His belief in achieving results and not process was a major driver for achieving a significant level of set objectives.
Kieran’s proactive approach, timely communication, and attention to detail in terms of reporting content and budgeting ensured that the DRM4D activity remained in full compliance with relevant requirements, minimizing any risks that would undermine program objectives. Kieran remained abreast with international developments and had good networks with other tax consultants.
While working with cities, Kieran was keen to ensure satisfaction by even going an extra mile to ensure achievement of results. His fast response and accessibility to staff and client needs was demonstrated by the use of open office policy. As Chief of Party, he did not have a permanent physical desk, he used any desk found free in the open office space. Staff had a stress-free access, which improved efficiency in decision making and processes.”
Kabaka Modeste
Tax Professional
“I have worked with Kieran Holmes as a Revenue Administration Expert both in Rwanda and Burundi. During our collaboration, Kieran consistently demonstrated exemplary leadership, problem-solving skills, and dedication to our shared objectives. Together, we achieved remarkable successes, overcoming challenges with strategic insight and teamwork. For example, in Burundi, under his leadership, we were able to establish a fully functional unified revenue administration (covering domestic taxes and customs) within a period of three years. This encompassed extensive technical support, including legal guidance, organizational structuring, defining staffing levels, recruitment, selection, deployment, and consolidation support. Kieran's expertise and commitment were invaluable assets to our projects, contributing significantly to their positive outcomes.”
Philippe Dadour
Associé gestionnaire | Managing Partner
“Kieran is an exceptional strategic thinker whose expertise is matched only by his extensive experience in modernizing tax and customs administrations worldwide. I have had the pleasure of collaborating with him on several occasions, and each time, his insights have been invaluable. Kieran demonstrates a profound understanding of the broader context of reforms, always prioritizing the human element in his approach to reform and focusing on empowering revenue authority staff and fostering positive relationships with taxpayers. Moreover, Kieran possesses a comprehensive understanding of how to update tax legislation to support reform initiatives and implement innovative practices. His contributions have undoubtedly been instrumental in driving positive change for many revenue authorities.”
Kevin Colgan
Ambassador | Embassy of Ireland, Uganda
“Kieran Holmes is a senior expert in taxation administration. He has wide experience in supporting the development and delivery of national tax authorities’ reforms. He is a senior respected advisor to top leadership positions here in Uganda.
He has worked across a range of international locations in difficult and complex environments over the last 40 years. Kieran brings his wide experience, including from the Irish Revenue, and his deep interpersonal skills and he applies them in a manner that is both persuasive and impactful.
His work in Uganda as Chief of Party and Technical Advisor/team leader for the USAID DRM4D project with the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development (MoFPED), and others, has been highly successful and will have a long-term impact on the development of the country. His relationships with his counterparts and the leaderships of the URA and MoFPED shows an ability to influence and guide colleagues at the highest levels. Kieran is well respected by his peers and senior leadership within the international community in Uganda.
Kieran has been invaluable to the work of Ireland in Uganda, in building robust institutional relationships and by creating enduring links between the URA and Irish Revenue.”
Tesfaye Wondim
Team Leader | Tax Transformation Program (TTP), Ethiopia
“I know Kieran Holmes for 22 years. We worked together on reforming the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) from 2002 to 2010. During this period Kieran managed the overall transformation program while he specifically advised the Commissioner General on strategic administrative and tax policy matters. I was Advisor of the Domestic Taxes Department during those years. With Kieran’s assistance, the RRA procured and implemented an integrated tax administration system with all networking infrastructure and the acquisition and renovation of the Head Quarters of the Authority. Kieran made a huge impact on the transformation of the Authority to a modern institution which substantially improved its domestic resource mobilization. The Tax/GDP ratio grew from around 8% to 13% over those years.
After putting the Rwanda Revenue Authority on sustainable ground, he moved to Burundi and created the Burundi Revenue Authority, (known by its French title Office Burundais des Recettes or OBR) building the institutional framework of the Authority from scratch. Subsequently, he became the Commissioner General of the OBR for 4 years. During this period, I worked with him advising the Domestic Tax Department. Over those years, Kieran helped Burundi combat corruption and generate revenues. Burundi became a sustainable revenue Authority by the time he completed his intervention in 2014.
Kieran has a great wealth of knowledge and experience enhanced by his passion for helping developing countries build institutions which could effectively mobilize domestic resources while combatting corruption. Developing countries aiming at transforming their revenue administrations to a modern and effective institution would be able to do it with certainty by obtaining the services of Kieran Holmes.”
Klaus Gruetjen
Lawyer and Expert in Administrative Sciences and Development Cooperation, Senegal
“I have always had very fruitful cooperation with Kieran Holmes. With his outstanding technical capacities and management skills resulting from a long and various experience, and with the highest degree of integrity and personal commitment, Kieran has successfully assisted several countries in designing and implementing important and complex reforms of their respective revenue systems. Knowing Kieran since 2009, as I do, and having worked together on several occasions in different partner countries in Central and West Africa, I have observed that his action has regularly produced significant and measurable impacts.
As a hard and target-oriented worker, be it in the role of an adviser or assuming himself the position of the first responsible of a state institution, Kieran has proved several times his qualities as a leader who is able to conceive and conduct innovation, also through exceptional communication strategies and skills, and to convince and motivate his partners as well as his team and staff members for a high performance in order to achieve progress, even under pressure and often in most difficult conditions.
In Burkina Faso, on invitation by the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Development (MINEFID) in 2016, and together with German partners, Kieran Holmes was the first high ranking international expert to explore opportunities to improve the state’s revenue system. His analysis of the then current situation and outline of a reform to improve its performance was expressly approved by the country’s President and his government.”