The Future of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
A position paper submitted by the full and alternate civil society members of the EITI International Board
The International Board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) will gather in Lusaka, Zambia on October 25-26, to make important decisions on the future scope and structure of the initiative.
The outcome of these discussions will determine whether the EITI remains the relevant international standard in natural resource transparency.
CSO position:
- The EITI standard should represent good practice in extractive sector transparency. Some companies are obstructing the reform of EITI, and use the weak nature of the current EITI standard to argue against effective transparency legislation in their home markets.2 EITI should not be manipulated in this manner, nor should this counter-transparency agenda be the one to determine the future scope of the initiative.
- The revised EITI standard must incorporate current good practice in natural resource transparency. For EITI to leverage gains in natural resource governance, it must compel continued progress in participating countries. Civil society groups in 60 countries have clearly called for an expansion in the EITI scope.3 Specifically, the following disclosures (included as options in EITI Board paper 21-2-A4which will form the basis of the Lusaka discussions) should be required (not encouraged):
- Transfers to subnational governments: Many producing regions or communities receive resource revenue transfers from the central government. These transfers can be overwhelmingly large, volatile, finite, and the subject of political tension. Transparency of statutory transfers will inform citizens in producing regions (often those most affected by extraction) and provide a basis for accountability and dialogue on the use of these funds.
- Revenue reporting by project: With project-level disaggregation, citizens and host communities can assess whether their governments collect a fair return, track their entitlements and examine how that money is used. Project reporting is established good practice: the US Securities and Exchange Commission requires it from US-listed oil, gas and mining companies, and it is included in proposed EU legislation. On 11 October 2012, the UK’s Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg committed the UK to pushing for European legislation through the revised Transparency and Accounting Directives that would match section 1504 of the US Dodd-Frank Act, thus voicing UK government support for project-by-project reporting.5 EITI implementing countries Indonesia, Zambia, Mali, Burkina-Faso and Timor-Leste have all incorporated, either explicitly or implicitly, information about individual projects into their EITI reporting.
- Licenses and license holders: Citizens of resource-rich countries are entitled to know whichcompanies have been awarded rights to exploit their natural resources and on what basis. The publication of the registers of licenses and license holders, including beneficial ownership, offers a feasible and relatively low-cost way to discourage corruption and encourage due process. Transparency must also extend to the processes by which licenses are allocated to companies for extractive rights
- Contract disclosure: Citizens and parliaments need access to contracts in order to interpret revenue data, assess the project’s net return, and monitor whether companies are fulfilling their obligations (e.g. social and environmental provisions) over time. Contracts determine the terms by which a company can gain access to a public natural resource. As a public resource, citizens should have the right to see those contacts. Contract transparency is feasible and spreading worldwide,6 and EITI should advance this trend.
- The publication of electronic data. The use of EITI-generated information will increase if countries release a set of standardized revenue data that reflects prevailing global data standards. EITI data should be made available online in an electronic and interactive data format in line with international best practice.
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