Public Dialogue: Governance & transparency in extractive industries (Southern Africa)
27 May 2010
- 28 May 2010
Venue: Johannesburg, South Africa
The extractive industries sector is well known for being the most non-transparent and unaccountable sector in the world. The extractive industries sector is often strong in developing countries where minerals and oil are being extracted in communities that do not benefit directly from the extraction. International and national oil companies often do not publicly declare how much revenue they pay to the host governments where the oil companies are operating. Transparency International estimates that two thirds of the world’s poorest people live in resource rich countries. In 2006, oil exports alone were estimated at US$ 866 billion worldwide. These revenues rarely reach the poor or are used in the overall development of the countries where they were extracted.
The oil and mining companies are not the only ones to blame. The national governments do not publish the revenues they receive from these companies. Often the executive exerts excessive powers that undermine the national legislature’s oversight role. This is further hampered by the general lack of information in these countries which hinders the legislature and civil society’s ability to monitor and lobby national governments and extractive companies to increase their transparency and governance of their operations.
Several initiatives at the national, regional and international level have been established to address the deficits of the extractive industries sector. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), Publish-What-You-Pay, the work of Transparency International and Revenue Watch Institute are just some of the various initiatives on this issue. The Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in Africa (ANSA-Africa) and its partners recognise these initiatives and do not intend to duplicate existing efforts. ANSA-Africa and its partners intend to convene a series of multi-stakeholder dialogues that aim at taking stock of existing initiatives and strategise on enhancing the role of citizens in advocating for greater transparency and improved governance in extractive industries. ANSA-Africa hopes to contribute to existing knowledge and practices in the field of extractive industries through providing a platform for engagement of multiple stakeholders.
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