EITI

15 PAÍSES IMPLEMENTARÁN LA INICIATIVA PARA LA TRANSPARENCIA DE LAS INDUSTRIAS EXTRACTIVAS (EITI)

El Consejo de Administración acordó el 27 de septiembre considerar la candidatura de 15 países que están en condiciones de iniciar la implementación de la iniciativa. Hubo un grupo adicional de nueve países a los cuales el Consejo de Administración acordó solicitar información adicional a finales del 2007 para poder tomar entonces una decisión sobre la idoneidad de su candidatura. Esta decisión forma parte del proceso de validación diseñado para países y empresas que quieran implementar la iniciativa.

15 PAYS SUR LE POINT DE METTRE EN ŒUVRE L’INITIATIVE POUR LA TRANSPARENCE DES INDUSTRIES EXTRACTIVES

Le Conseil d’administration a décidé, lors de sa réunion du 27 septembre, que 15 pays sont retenus parmi les « pays candidats » et sont prêts à mettre en œuvre l’ITIE. Le Conseil d’administration a en outre exigé à neuf autres pays de fournir davantage d’informations d’ici la fin de l’année 2007 afin de pouvoir décider s’ils peuvent être considérés comme des pays candidats. Cette décision fait parti de la procédure de validation destinée aux pays et aux entreprises qui souhaitent prendre part à cette initiative.

15 СТРАН ПРИСТУПАЮТ К РЕАЛИЗАЦИИ ИНИЦИАТИВЫ ПО ОБЕСПЕЧЕНИЮ ПРОЗРАЧНОСТИ В ДОБЫВАЮЩИХ ОТРАСЛЯХ (ИОПДО)

27 сентября г. в Осло Правление Инициативы по обеспечению прозрачности в добывающих отраслях (ИОПДО) утвердило список 15 стран-кандидатов, которые могут приступать к реализации ИОПДО. Следующая группа из 9 стран должна будет предоставить дополнительную информацию до конца 2007 года, чтобы Правление могло принять решение относительно статуса «кандидатов» для этих стран. Такое решение было принято в рамках разработанного процесса валидации (оценки) стран и компаний, заинтересованных в реализации инициативы.

15 Countries to Implement the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

On September 27, 2007, the Board agreed that 15 countries are considered candidate countries and can proceed to implementation. For a further group of nine countries, the Board agreed that additional information would be requested by the end of 2007 so that a decision about candidate status can be determined. The decision came as part of the EITI Validation process for countries and companies committed to implementing the initiative.

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Sierra Leone Launches EITI

The Sierra Leone Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (SLEITI) was launched by His Excellency President Kabbah on 28 June 2007. In November 2006 the government of Sierra Leone engaged technical support to implement the Initiative from the Department for International Development.

Political responsibility for the initiative is designated to the post of the Minister of Presidential Affairs - EITI Champion. In January 2007, a delegation attended an EITI workshop hosted by the Ghanaian government where the Champion delivered a key note speech. To date, key government institutions including the National Revenue Authority, Ministry of Mineral Resources and the Ministry of Finance have endorsed EITI and pledged to work towards its implementation.

There is at present no single voice for mining industry in Sierra Leone. However, efforts are being made to establish a Chamber of Mines in the country. This will be of key importance to the implementation of EITI as a standard way through which to engage industry. Civil Society continues to be supportive of the Initiative and has carried out a year long sensitisation programme of civil society groups in the provincial areas.

To date, there is a SLEITI framework and work plan in place. Both documents have extended focus beyond diamonds to include bauxite, rutile and gold – the fist phase of SLEITI will publish and verify data from the four large scale mining companies operating in the country. The SLEITI steering Committee, formed in December 2006 has worked with the support of technical assistance to produce the SLEITI framework and implementation plan.

Components of the Initiative have also been included in the recently redrafted Mines and Mineral Act. Additionally, the EITI has gone into the draft constitution as an ‘enabling provision’ – the purpose is to ensure that an EITI Commission is set up and provided with a mandate to legislate on EITI.

Keynote Speech: Dr. Shehou Sesay, Minister for Presidential Affairs

President Kabbah Receives In Audience New Director-General Of The Ministry Of Mineral Resources

Address by His Excellency the President Alhaj Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah on the Occasion of the Special Session of the Second Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone, 19 June 2007.

New Timor-Leste Government Affirms EITI Commitment

Dili, Timor-Leste, on 8 August 2007 a new Government for Timor-Leste was formed, following the first national parliamentary elections since South East Asia’s youngest nation regained independence in 2002. Newly appointed Secretary of State for Natural Resources, Alfredo Pires, affirmed Timor-Leste’s continuing commitment to EITI and assured the international EITI Secretariat based in Oslo that the new Government will move quickly to publish its first EITI report and go through the EITI validation process, in line with the country's strong track record of petroleum sector transparency.

Former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri stated Timor-Leste’s official support for EITI at the first international EITI conference in June 2003. Timor Leste has, from the outset, pursued a rigorous approach to extractive industries transparency. Petroleum revenues, which flow into a transparently managed Petroleum Fund, are in the public domain, as are all new Production Sharing Contracts. Thorough public consultations on the country's petroleum sector legislation were conducted before parliamentary approval in mid-2005, and a highly transparent, first licensing round for exploration rights in Timor-Leste's exclusive zone was conducted in 2005/2006.

Timor-Leste has formed an EITI Multi-Stakeholder Working Group, bringing together representatives from relevant government agencies, civil society, and the petroleum industry, to lead EITI implementation. Decisive steps are now being taken toward approval of an EITI work plan outlining proposed actions and activities for Timor-Leste. More information, including minutes of the Group's meetings, is available on the Timor Leste Country page on this site.

The international EITI Secretariat applauds the outgoing Government for its determined pursuit of extractive industries transparency and welcomes the continuing commitment of the new Government to EITI and to prudent petroleum revenue management in general, for the benefit of the Timorese people.

Liberia Holds EITI Launch Workshop

Liberia celebrated the launch of its Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in Liberia (LEITI) at Monrovia City Hall on July 10th. The event was presided over by Liberia’s President, her Excellency Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who formally launched the LEITI. Statements were also made by several Cabinet Ministers, other government representatives, civil society, the private sector, and international development partners including the African Development Bank.

LEITI will work to ensure that the natural resources of Liberia – mines, forests, and potentially oil – are used in the interests of the Liberian people, rather than to enrich private individuals. This will be done via the publication of all payments made by mining, petroleum, and forestry companies to the government and government personnel. Payment and revenue information will be reconciled by an independent administrator, and will undergo external audits.

Chairman of EITI’s International Board, Dr. Peter Eigen highlighted the significance of this process in a letter to Her Excellency Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf earlier this week. "The launch of the LEITI", he wrote, "shows your Government's commitment to good governance and transparency practices. It demonstrates a willingness to working together with civil society." It is by collaborating with civil society that LEITI hopes to ensure that all Liberians are able to benefit from the generous bounty of Liberia’s lands, mines, and forests.

LEITI will be overseen by a Steering Committee composed of members of the government, civil society, the private sector, and international development partners.

Click here to for the full speeches of President Sirleaf and Finance Minister Antoinette Sayeh.

Security Council Underscores Need for Peacekeeping Mandates to Consider Helping States Prevent Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources from Fuelling Conflict

EITI gets at least five mentions in this press release, one each from: Germany, Italy, and Japan, in the Presidential Statement, and a statement from the Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe.

From the Presidential Statement:

The Security Council acknowledges the crucial role that the Peacebuilding Commission, together with other United Nations and non-United Nations actors, can play in post-conflict situations, in assisting Governments, upon their request, in ensuring that natural resources become an engine for sustainable development. In this regard, the Security Council recognizes the role of voluntary initiatives aiming at improving revenue transparency, such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. The Security Council also stresses that the use, disposal and management of natural resources is a multifaceted and cross-sector issue that involves various United Nations organizations. In this regard, the Security Council acknowledges the valuable contribution of various United Nations organizations in promoting lawful, transparent and sustainable management and exploitation of natural resources.

New Head of Peru EITI Technical Secretariat

Mr. Jose Carbajal, General Director of Social Management of the Ministry of Energy and Minas has been appointed as Head, Technical Secretariat for the Peruvian Working Committee of EITI. This measure will fortify the institutional framework of the implementation process providing a more stable and suitable platform.

Joint UNCTAD-EITI seminar on Revenue Transparency and Natural Resource

Date: 6 July 2007
Time: 13:00-16:00 hrs
Location: Geneva
Venue: Centre International de Conferences
Description: The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in collaboration with UNCTAD will host a half-day seminar on Revenue Transparency and Natural Resource Extraction - progress and challenges of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Click here for the invitation.

Transparency as a cure for the ‘resource curse’: global consensus and tasks pending for Spain--Comment from FRIDE

by Nils-Sjard Schulz
Associate researcher and independent consultant for development cooperation

The contradictory relationship between natural resource wealth and poverty in human development and governance, especially pronounced among the hydrocarbon-rich African countries, represents a complex challenge for industrialised nations highly dependent on these energy supplies. In response to the "resource curse" suffered by so many countries of the South, with its accompanying corruption and violence, a regime for transparency in the payments made by extractive multinationals has been created. Representing an agreement between parties who in other circumstances would not readily collaborate, these new rules offer great potential for global governance. While Spain has a notable interest in energy security, it has not yet shown a great deal of commitment to this new initiative, in spite of the significant potential it offers for achieving greater coherence in Spain's Development Aid policy. (Versión española pdf)

Botswana announces its intention to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)

H.E. the President of Botswana, Festus G. Mogae, confirmed today that his government intended to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Attending the German World Bank Forum Africa on the Rise in Berlin, President Mogae said that: “We are going to join hands with EITI because we know that we have a positive story to tell. We are therefore happy to open our doors to EITI and others. As an open society that is also among the countries most dependant on minerals, especially diamonds for its foreign earnings, we know that collaborating with civil society initiatives like EITI is in our own enlightened self interest.”

Peter Eigen, chairman of the EITI, welcomed Botswana’s decision: Botswana’s management of its natural resources is a good example of how these resources can be a development opportunity. Becoming an implementing country of the EITI and contextualizing its already responsible management of the revenues from diamonds and other mineral deposits within the EITI is a hugely important demonstration of good governance in Africa.

The coalition of countries, oil, gas and mining companies, and civil society organizations that are all behind the EITI, welcome Botswana’s decision. We look forward to working together in ensuring that these natural resources continue to bring development to the people of Botswana. It is encouraging to see the EITI becoming a forum for other countries to draw on the experiences of countries such as Botswana and Norway.”

Notes to the editor:

The EITI is a new global standard by which companies publish what they spend and governments publish what they receive. The EITI is a collaboration between governments, companies and civil society. EITI is being implemented in over 20 countries and is supported by the majority of the world’s publicly listed oil, gas and mining companies. The Governments of Gabon and Nigeria are among the members of the EITI board.

Dr. Peter Eigen is the chairman of the EITI. Dr. Eigen worked for the World Bank for over 20 years and is the founder of Transparency International (TI), a non-governmental organization promoting transparency and accountability in international development.

All inquiries to Wendy Raymont, EITI Berlin office, at +49 30 2005 97 1-13.

Civil Society Organizations strengthen global governance – Example: the fight against international grand corruption

On the occasion of a speech he delivered at the College of Business at Ohio University, Prof. Dr. Peter Eigen, Founder of global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International and Chairman of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) said:

...

A new initiative, the “Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative” (EITI) seeks the developmental deployment of natural resource revenue. Natural resources present enormous development opportunities, provided that they are managed well. By requiring transparency over payments from oil, gas and mining companies to host governments, EITI critically contributes towards good governance and to ensuring that local populations benefit from what are after all their natural resources.

Canada’s New Government Supports an International Initiative to Improve Governance in Resource-Rich Countries

The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, …announced Canada’s official support for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) on behalf of the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Honourable Josée Verner, Minister of International Cooperation and Minister for La Francophonie and Official Languages, and the Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources.

Colombia Enters the Initiative For the Transparency Of the Extractive Industries (Eiti)

The National Government through Ministry of Mines and Energy announces the decision to adhere to the Initiative for the Transparency of the Extractive Industries (EITI), that reflects the commitment of the Government of President Uribe in looking for greater efficiency and transparency in the operation of the mining and hidrocarburíferos resources of the country.