Namibia urged to join extractive industries transparency initiative

Namibia should join the extractive industries transparency initiative (EITI) to restore public trust and investor confidence.

This was said by a civil society group on Thursday during a workshop on transparency in the mining and petroleum sectors.

“This is really crucial for Namibia, and crucial for Namibia at this moment in history,” says Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) executive director Graham Hopwood.

The EITI is a framework that requires the disclosure of information relating to oil, gas and mineral resources.

Countries that comply with the EITI standard have clear reporting of data throughout the value chain, all the way from exploration licences to revenue contributions to the government.

Subscribing to the EITI was listed as a goal for the second Harambee Prosperity Plan, but it was never implemented.

If it joined the EITI, Namibia would be required to have a reporting mechanism for beneficial ownership (who really owns the licence), tax revenues and environmental impact, among other data.

According to Hopwood, Namibia currently does not meet transparency standards across various areas, including contract transparency, public beneficial ownership disclosure, revenue transparency, asset and conflict of interest disclosure, and a public participation framework.

However, the transparency requirements are compatible with president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s previous speeches that emphasise accountability and addresses corruption.

The new petroleum bill tabled in parliament this week will require officials to disclose conflicts of interest, although will not require those disclosures to be made public.

“The EITI is both a tool for governance and a framework. We do not impose any particular policies,” EITI deputy executive director Bady Balde told attendees.

The workshop was convened by Eco Dialogue Collective, an European Union-funded initiative that includes IPPR, the Namibia Media Trust, the Legal Assistance Centre and DW Akademie.

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