Transparency in the extractive industries: “It is progress made that counts”

12 Jan 2019 | News | 0 comments

Read the interview with Finance Minister Louis-Paul MOTAZE, who is also Chairman of the EITI Committee in Cameroon Tribune on 28th August 2018. Interview conducted following the publication of Prime Minister’s Decree No. 2018/6026/PM of 17th July 2018 establishing, organising and operating the Implementation Monitoring Committee EITI implementation in Cameroon. This decree is the beginning of a response to the fourteen recommendations made by the EITI Board, on June 29, 2018.

Minister, the results of the implementation evaluation EITI’s work for the period from 18 October 2013 to 30 June 2017 have have recently been made public by the Initiative’s Board of Directors. This body appreciates Cameroon’s efforts, but what about the validation?

Validation is an international and independent assessment which is carried out every three years for any country implementing the Initiative. Following the transition from the EITI Rules to the EITI Standard, the process of validation no longer assesses the compliance of the implementing countries but their level of progress on a scale of four: no progress, inadequate or insufficient progress, significant progress and progress satisfactory. This new approach aims, among other things, to better take into account takes into account the national context of each country. The last validation of Cameroon started on July 1, 2017 and ended with the above-mentioned decision of the Board of Directors. The said one Board of Directors concluded at its meeting on 29 June 2018 that the Cameroon had made significant progress in the implementation of the EITI Standard during the period from 18 October 2013, the following day the achievement of compliant country status as at 30 June 2017. This means that the efforts made by our country during the period under review to improve transparency and accountability in the extractive sector, i.e. the ability of citizens to hold those in in charge of the management of extractive resources, were fully appreciated value by international EITI bodies. Even if a margin of progress exists, we can rightly be pleased with this result. In Indeed, the EITI Board did not fail to point out that with regard to the disclosure of oil export data and compulsory social expenditure of extractive companies, our country has exceeded the minimum requirements of the Standard adopted in February 2016. And if the progress made by Cameroon were considered generally significant, i.e. because progress was considered insufficient for three thirty-one evaluated.

What should we expect to happen after the decision of the Initiative’s Board of Directors?

Following the decision of the EITI Board, the Cameroon has 18 months to prepare for its next validation, during which the implementation of the recommended corrective actions will be carried out appreciated. Moreover, it is important to preserve the gains that are the right ones points we have recorded in the implementation of the EITI. The Board of Directors endorsed the fourteen recommendations of the independent validator. Cameroon must therefore work to implement them within the prescribed time limits and no later than December 31, 2019, date after which the actions carried out will no longer be taken into account in the context of the next validation. In this respect, I am pleased to inform you that of the public that our country has already begun to implement these recommendations, especially those related to the three requirements for which progress s were found to be inadequate. Indeed, the promulgation of Law No. 2018/011 of 11 July 2018 on the Code of Transparency and Good Governance governance in public financial management and the issuance of the decree No. 2018/6026/PM of 17 July 2018 on the creation, organisation and functioning of the Monitoring Committee for the Implementation of the Transparency in the Extractive Industries contributes, in a way to remedy the situation concerning expenditure qualified as and the governance of the Committee, respectively. With regard to the sub-national transfers, the relevant departments of my department have already identified actions to be taken to improve in the short term the transparency of these flows, which are intended to contribute to the development of riparian zones of mining sites. The entry into the EITI Committee of the Ministry in charge of local development, in accordance with the decree of 17 July and the continued collaboration with EIFCOM are assets for achieving the desired objective.

The article in Cameroon Tribune

Is that enough as actions?

Of course, the Committee intends to pursue the implementation of its work plan for the 2017-2019 period, the main focuses of which are the preservation of achievements, the reinforcement of awareness and communication and the new projects induced by the EITI Standard ie, disclosure of actual owners of extractive companies by 1 January 2020, implementation of the Open Data Policy and integration of the Initiative into the National Public Information System. This last problem aims in particular at improving the punctuality of the disclosed data, in order to better feed the public debate, or even the reduction of the cost of the disclosure of the EITI data. The Committee intends to hold a national workshop on real property in the near future.

How will this happen, in relation to the decree of the Prime Minister who is practically creating a new committee?

To carry out these various activities in a timely manner the establishment of the new EITI Committee and its Secretariat Ongoing is ongoing. It is therefore with optimism that we approach this new phase of EITI implementation in our country, for a better implementation of the EITI result at the end of the next validation. However, validation is not not an end in itself. What matters is the progress made upstream that it makes it possible to highlight these advances that contribute to the realization of the Head of State’s vision for the development of the sector Cameroonian extractive industries and the improvement of people’s living conditions, the ultimate goal of our membership in the Initiative. Because, need I remind you, the Initiative was born as a result of advocacy by social organizations to ensure that resource-rich countries and their populations can better enjoy their wealth. It is also the wish of the Head of the State which, after analysing the positive effects of transparency, has examines Cameroon’s accession to the EITI in 2005. As a result, the commitment of the State to strengthen transparency is one of the main assets of the implementation of the EITI in our country.

Interview by Jocelyne NDOUYOU-MOULIOM, Cameroon Tribune

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