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New publications about EITI Reporting

The EITI reporting process lays the foundation for increasing revenue transparency in the extractive sectors. Understanding how much money is flowing into the government from the extractives sector and what the difference is between what the companies say that they pay and what the government says they receive, is the key first step in better management of those resources.  Every country implementing the EITI must produce EITI Reports. Since 2003 a total of 26 EITI Reports have been produced by 12 EITI countries, and many more appear to be on the way. The EITI Secretariat has compared the key figures in published EITI reports, presented in the paper “Overview of EITI Reports”. This country-by-country overview of the total revenues reported by government and companies outlines the total revenue flows covered by the EITI process. However, as the EITI reporting process is country-led rather than standardised, local variation and styles can make it difficult for interested stakeholders to compare the findings in reports from different countries.  The purpose of this paper is to bring the total revenue flows being reported in EITI Reports into one place for the first time. It does not seek to study discrepancies or investigate the validity of the data being reported.  

Similarly, two reports have recently been published on how EITI reporting can be improved. The World Bank has issued “Toward strengthened EITI Reporting – summary report and recommendations, following on from two roundtable consultations in May 2009 on EITI reporting processes. One conclusion from the report is that concrete steps can be taken to improve EITI reporting, and it outlines several recommendations for the EITI. The report is available in English, and French.

Sefton Darby has authored “The case for Company-by-Company Reporting of Data in the EITI” for the Revenue Watch Institute. It discusses whether the EITI Report should disclose the figures on a disaggregated, company-by-company basis or in an aggregated form, without company-specific figures. The report makes the case that disaggregated reporting can provide clear benefits for the EITI stakeholders, and highlights several countries that have already produced disaggregated reports. The report is available on our website.

Collectively, these papers will, I hope, increasing the quality of the EITI reports across all the implementing countries and therefore help bring the discussion to the people.