|
|
|
|
|
1. Introductory message from Mark Robinson
|
|
Dear National Coordinators,
Firstly, let me wish you all my best wishes for the year ahead. We began 2020 on a good note, with several countries publishing new data on the beneficial owners of extractives companies. It is encouraging to see the progress that has been made since this became a requirement in the 2016 Standard. Back then, the 2020 deadline seemed daunting. Your efforts have shown what can be achieved and how the EITI can provide leadership on this global agenda. We are ready to work with you on improving disclosure mechanisms, undertaking data analysis and agreeing on data verification procedures. Central to this will be a step change in accelerating the move to systematic disclosure as outlined in the Board paper from the Implementation Committee. We hope to launch a series of pilots this year documenting lessons from efforts in different countries in making systematic disclosure and open data the norm.
The Board is scheduled to meet on 12-14 February in Oslo. They will begin with a strategy retreat to discuss the direction for the EITI for the next three years. There is an opportunity for you to provide inputs to this important session by participating in the survey shared in December and through the invited delegates who are attending the implementing countries workshop prior to the Board events. Comments are welcome until 31 January. The Secretariat would be happy to convene regional conference calls if you wish. More details are provided below.
We communicated in the previous NSC the need to integrate action plans for contract transparency and mainstreaming in your 2020 work plans. So far, a third of EITI countries have no publicly available work plans and only 25% of these cover the year 2020. I cannot overemphasise the need to have updated and fully costed work plans to help align EITI implementation with national priorities. I urge you to prioritise updating your work plans and to ensure that they reflect steps to implement contract transparency, mainstreaming, project level reporting, as well as other requirements under the 2019 EITI Standard.
We are about to complete the first round of Validations for 52 countries. The Board is currently undertaking a review of the Validation procedure to take stock of lessons learned and find ways to improve the process. We welcome your views on this. We have outlined below how you can participate in this review.
Lastly, several countries have completed their Validation in the past weeks including Indonesia, Zambia, the United Kingdom, Burkina Faso and Tajikistan. Please join me in congratulating these countries for progress made in implementing the EITI.
The past year saw many positive developments in the EITI’s work nationally and globally. In this blog, I outlined our milestones and shared my vision for the road ahead. The International Secretariat will work hard to remain an innovative and effective organisation, one that is ready to engage with an exciting future agenda, as one EITI. We look forward to working with all of you in 2020.
Sincerely,
Mark Robinson
Executive Director
EITI Secretariat
|
|
|
2. Upcoming Board meeting and strategy retreat
|
|
The EITI Board’s retreat on 12 February will focus on how the EITI can deepen its impact and adapt to a changing global environment. Among the themes to be discussed are the role of EITI in addressing corruption, creating impact and supporting the energy transition.
The discussion on corruption responds to feedback from stakeholders on the need for the EITI to define its role in the fight against corruption. The Board is expected to agree on recommendations to improve implementation support on this work, building on the conclusions of an independent study commissioned by the EITI and discussed by the Board in Addis.
The Board also agreed to review how the EITI creates impact beyond disclosure and how it can overcome barriers to creating impact. Among the questions that the Board will consider are how the EITI’s impact been measured to date and how the EITI’s impact be better captured and communicated.
On energy transition, the Board will consider the following:
- What does energy transition mean for ‘good governance’ of the extractive sectors, and for the EITI’s core governance themes?
- Where does the EITI sit in the wider landscape of international climate- and finance-related transparency and disclosure mechanisms?
- How might existing data, disclosures, and processes under the EITI Standard help support the energy transition at both a country and company level?
The Board is also expected to review Validation procedures. One of the objectives of the review is to make sure that Validation is measuring the right things. It has been observed that while countries are encouraged to make EITI implementation meaningful in the context of their national challenges and priorities, Validation mostly measures disclosure, rather than the outcomes or impact of EITI implementation. As part of the review, the Board will consider how to bring together three different imperatives: (1) Assessing progress against a series of technical requirements, (2) Measuring the impact of EITI implementation, (3) Taking account of broader challenges in extractive sector governance.
Countries are encouraged to send inputs to this ongoing consultation. The consultation questions were sent to national coordinators in December and may also be accessed here. You can find further information on the Validation review in this blog.
|
|
|
3. Beneficial ownership disclosure updates
|
|
|
Beneficial ownership disclosure became an EITI Requirement on 1 January 2020. In the lead-up to the new requirement entering into force, several countries published new data on beneficial owners of extractives companies: Nigeria published its first beneficial ownership data for oil, gas and mining companies on an app that brings together data provided by relevant government agencies and reporting companies. Ghana, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Tanzania and Timor-Leste published beneficial ownership data online. In addition to publishing beneficial ownership data, Madagascar disclosed an overview of the corporate structures of the companies in its EITI Report.
Validations will now be assessing progress made in meeting Requirement 2.5. This will be a useful opportunity to take stock of progress to date and facilitate discussions with stakeholders on how to improve disclosures and support the use of data. The Secretariat is also updating guidance on MSG oversight of beneficial ownership disclosures and the beneficial ownership declaration form (to be published on eiti.org once final).
|
|
|
4. Work plan checklist for contract disclosures and mainstreaming
|
|
|
As communicated in the special National Secretariat Circular we circulated in December, implementing countries are required to include plans for contract disclosure in their 2020 work plans and to refocus work plans towards mainstreaming. Please see this detailed checklist on possible steps that the MSG could consider in implementing contract disclosure.
|
|
|
As of 20 January 2020, A total of 44 of our 52 implementing countries have completed their first Validation under the EITI Standard, with 13 of these having completed their second Validations. We invite you to review our blog on crunching the numbers on these Validations and to dig deeper beyond the headline Validation findings by querying the Validation data yourselves!
Most recently in December, the EITI Board has concluded that Indonesia and the United Kingdom have achieved “meaningful progress” in implementing the 2016 EITI Standard, while Zambia was found to have made “meaningful progress” with considerable improvements since its first Validation. With 14 other Validations ongoing, more decisions are expected shortly. The EITI Board also completed Validations of Burkina Faso, Guatemala and Tajikistan recently. You can track progress with the Validation schedule here.
Many thanks to stakeholders that have provided input to the EITI Board’s review of the Validation model, through the consultation on the future of Validation. The voice of those implementing the EITI Standard is key for the Board’s review! The deadline for contributions has been extended to 31 January 2020 to foster a range of responses, across regions and stakeholder groups.
|
|
Useful links
You can use the filter options on the left if you want to narrow your search to a country or a certain time period.
Find contact details of National Coordinators from other countries
On the bottom of all the country pages we list the national coordinators and their contact email.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
