https://www.miningweekly.com

EITI enables greater transparency in DRC natural resource sectors

IMPROVED REPORTING The 2013 EITI DRC report was released in July this year and the 2014 EITI DRC report is due to be published by December 31, 2015

IMPROVED REPORTING The 2013 EITI DRC report was released in July this year and the 2014 EITI DRC report is due to be published by December 31, 2015

13th November 2015

By: Ilan Solomons

Creamer Media Staff Writer

  

Font size: - +

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) process is proving to be a magnet for information gathering in terms of the management of the oil, gas and mining sectors in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as well as heated discussion on the issue. And, with an improved process, comes increased expectations, says the the EITI organisation.

The EITI is a global standard to promote open and accountable management of natural resources.

The organisation notes that EITI DRC is on track to publish two EITI reports and two studies during the remainder of 2015. The 2013 EITI DRC report was released in July this year and, at the request of DRC Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo and the Parliamentary committees, the 2014 EITI DRC report is due to be published by December 31, 2015.

Two studies on the artisanal mining and forestry sectors are also under way under the auspices of the EITI process. The DRC Ministry of Finance also publishes quarterly reports of government revenues from the extractive sector, which are later reconciled with company data, broken down by company and published on the EITI DRC website.

The

EITI notes that the 2013 report includes better-quality information on licence, production and exports data; social payments; employment data; and the sector’s overall contribution to the economy (98% of exports, 29% of government revenues, 21% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 6% of formal employment in 2013).

The government reported $1.5-billion in revenue from the sectors in 2013, of which 73% went to the national Budget.

“The report showed a record 48% increase in copper production to 920 000 t in 2013. “Copper and cobalt are the country’s main export products, accounting for 68% and 17% of total exports respectively,” the organisation notes. The

EITI comments that the report also provides greater detail of beneficial ownership, including the nationality of some individual owners of mining companies, and discloses the name of politically exposed persons.

Further, the report recommends building and maintaining a public registry of beneficial ownership. Other recommendations for future reporting include greater disclosure of revenue flow to and from State-owned enterprises and the publication of contracts.

The EITI points out that the disclosure of contracts was decreed by a Prime Ministerial decree in May 2011 but has not yet been fully implemented.

The organisation also highlights that, while some contracts are published on the website of the Ministry of Mining and others on the website of the Ministry of Hydrocarbons, the report recommends complete disclosure of all contracts on a single government portal.

In August 2015, the DRC government lowered its forecast of GDP growth in 2015 from 10.4% to 8.4%, as a result of the decline in commodity prices, particularly copper.

In addition to the falling commodity prices, ongoing institutional reforms, such as divisions of the seven provinces into 26 provinces – each with its own local government – and the ongoing process of updat-ing the mining code may increase uncertainty and affect the business environment, the EITI says.

With support from German development agency GIZ, the DRC branch of civil society coalition Publish What You Pay conducted an impact evaluation study of the EITI process in the DRC over the period 2005 to 2015.

“While it is too early to demonstrate the impact of the EITI on local communities, the study concluded that the EITI has contributed to behavioural change in the management of the sector. Preliminary results suggest substantial gains in government revenues from the sector. The extent to which EITI implementation had contributed to this increase was not clear.”

The

EITI says that there was a widely held belief among respondents that the DRC deserved its EITI compliance status, which it achieved in July 2014, but the report notes that more work is needed to ensure effective management of the sector and increased social benefits.

The study recommends mainstreaming the EITI in the daily management of the sector, widening the scope of EITI reports, implementing regulatory reforms, better use of EITI data by Parliamentarians and increasing the capacity of civil society groups.

“While the EITI International Secretariat does not endorse the methodology and the content of the report, it welcomes the strong engagement of the civil society constituency in the DRC,” the EITI concludes.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

Comments

Showroom

Goodwin Submersible Pumps Africa (Pty) Ltd
Goodwin Submersible Pumps Africa (Pty) Ltd

Goodwin Submersible Pumps Africa is sole distributors for Goodwin electrically driven, submersible, abrasion resistance slurry pumps.

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Booyco Electronics
Booyco Electronics

Booyco Electronics, South African pioneer of Proximity Detection Systems, offers safety solutions for underground and surface mining, quarrying,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
27th March 2024
Resources Watch
Resources Watch
27th March 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.123 0.159s - 112pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now