Transparency And Accountability In Africa S Extractive Industries

While current efforts to increase transparency and accountability in the management of natural resources emphasize the roles and responsibilities of a broad range of actors, relatively little attention has been paid to the potential contribution of elected legislators. Yet, the three core functions of legislative bodies - representing constituent interests, making or shaping public policy, and overseeing policy implementation by executive branch agencies - are central to any effort in this area. This report is an effort to help elected political officials - particularly those in the legislative branch of government - serve as constructive leaders in improving the oversight and management of their countries' natural resources.

The potential for using revenues from extractive resources for inclusive growth in Africa is tremendous. However, the realisation of the transformative role that extractive industries could play in sustainable development has been elusive in most African countries. Extractive industries in most of these countries are plagued with numerous conflicts, some with serious casualties over the control, distribution, management and utilisation of the resources and revenues from extractive operations. Collaborative Governance in Extractive Industries in Africa presents the critical challenges facing extractive industries from different contexts, countries, sectors and settings. It features chapters with diverse angle of interest and analytical tools applied in examining the critical issues related particularly to mining and petroleum development in Africa. The contributors to this book have extensive academic and professional experience in policy research in the mining, oil and gas sectors in Africa and other regions. The book addresses the current gap in knowledge about appropriate governance regimes that could create the forum where the divergent interests and positions of various stakeholders of extractive resources and revenues could be handled - without any of them resorting to deadly conflicts. It presents the functionality of collaborative governance in enhancing for example, transparency, accountability, and equitable distribution of extractive revenues. Governance practitioners, policy- and decision makers could use the structures, components and procedures discussed in this book to develop training manuals, governance criteria and indicators for measuring and managing collaborative governance regime at the national and local levels. They will also find useful information about some of the critical elements that should guide the strategic implementation of the collaborative process.

During the last decade, the Latin American and Caribbean region has experienced unprecedented natural resources abundance. This book highlights how transparency can help realize the benefits and reduce negative externalities associated with the extractive industries in the region. A central message is that high-quality and well-managed information is critical to ensure the transparent and effective governance of the sector. The insights from experiences in the region can help policymakers design and implement effective regulatory reforms and adopt international standards that contribute to this goal. This is particularly important at a time when the recent boom experienced by extractives in the region may be coming to an end.

In a world characterized by globalization, governments increasingly find themselves unable to govern. Corruption is everywhere, natural resources are being exploited, the environment damaged, markets distorted, and the fight against poverty is often ineffective. Certain challenges cannot be addressed by governments alone. Increasingly, collective governance “beyond governments” is seen as part of the solution, with state and non-state actors working together. This book sets out a framework for those wishing to implement collective governance, involving civil society, companies and governments as key actors. Based on over eight years of running the most advanced example of collective governance at international level, the Head and Deputy Head of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) outline the practicalities and pitfalls, and draw out the experience of the EITI as a case example. Beyond Governments tells a positive story of how this type of innovative governance can make real achievements, but also cautions against those who see collective governance as a silver bullet to solve development challenges. It provides practical guidance from a practitioner’s perspective and is essential reading for those in government, business and academia.

In their Natural Resource Governance and EITI Implementation in Nigeria, Musa Abutudu and Dauda Garuba provide the most up-to-date and in-depth analysis of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), providing a balanced yet critical evaluation of its performance, limitations and potential as an institution for helping Africa's largest oil exporter to escape the so-called resource curse and lay a firm basis for sustainable development. This Current African Issue contains valuable insights and information that will be of interest to all those with a keen interest in institutionalising transparency and accountability in natural resource governance in Africa.

Oil, natural gas, and mineral deposits (“Extractive Resources”) offer the potential to generate significant financial benefits and help countries fuel their economic growth and development, employment, business opportunities, and incomes, ultimately leading to a better life for the citizens of those countries through sustained poverty reduction and inclusive growth. Leveraging these Extractive Resources to attain such beneficial outcomes requires accountability and transparency in governance. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was launched in 2002 in an effort to improve public accountability of governments. It provides a pathway to better managed Extractive Resources that benefit the people of a country. EITI is a global standard designed to improve transparency in the sector by publication of reconciled payments by companies and revenues received by governments from oil, gas, and mining exploration and production operations. It helps to promote and support improved governance, especially in resource-rich countries. This handbook builds upon an earlier publication, “Implementing EITI: Applying Early Lessons from the Field” (Darby 2008), issued by the World Bank Oil, Gas and Mining unit (SEGOM) and the EITI Multi-donor Trust Fund. Using the Extractive Industries Value Chain as an analytical tool, this handbook holistically analyzes the importance of EITI to domestic economies, governance structures, and local populations, and suggests measures to leverage its potential to ensure inclusive growth and sustainable development. The basic purpose of this handbook is to provide: • Guidance to stakeholders (including policymakers, industry, and civil society) in countries currently implementing, or seeking to implement, EITI; • Guidance on the measures required to launch and implement EITI successfully; and • Guidance to EITI implementing countries in “mainstreaming” EITI into the good-governance agenda by recommending global good-fit practices that build on the EITI standards and practices. EITI stakeholders and implementing countries will benefit greatly from this handbook

This book addresses the relationship between corporate governance (CG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) and does so in the context of extractive industries in Africa. Arguments are made as to what constitutes CG and CSR and whether or not one is a subset of the other. A series of case studies regarding governance, accountability, transparency and sustainability issues within the extractive sector are discussed. It proposes a model of good corporate governance for Africa's extractive sector. CG and CSR have remained hotly debated subjects since their emergence. Evidence from these debates points to no apparent end in sight in the ongoing sustainability agenda. This book aims to augment the debate by filling existing gaps in research such as illuminating CG and CSR practices within the African context. The book seeks to analyse case studies to assess engagements between stakeholders and multinational extractive sector firms in the context of appreciating accountability and transparency. It is difficult to deny that there has been a modest surge in the field of mainstream social and environmental accounting in the last three decades or so, and it is still considered a growing domain within accounting research. Social and environmental accounting is seen here as a vehicle to reveal intertwined corporate and social events aimed at liberating and guiding society towards a just, accountable, transparent and sustainable pathway. This book applies Habermas' theory of communicative action and postcolonial theory in the critical examination of the practice of CG and CSR. Through qualitative content analysis of corporate annual/integrated reports of multinational extractive sector with operations in Africa and analysis of interviews with stakeholders of the extractive sector industry, the research reveals colonised features of the industry by multinational firms and in extreme cases racial issues. These issues represent obstacles to the attainment of accountability and transparency between firms and their stakeholders. The book proposes a corporate accountability framework reminiscent of indigenous local and international best practices towards a more stakeholder-centric model of multinational corporate accountability and transparency in the 'Third World'. Case studies on Africa's extractive sector will be interspersed throughout the text including: mining in Ghana, South Africa, Zambia; and oil and gas in Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana and Nigeria.