Le Conseil d'Administration a convenu que São Tomé a réalisé des progrès significatifs dans la mise en oeuvre de la Norme ITIE 2016, assortis d'améliorations substantielles.

Decision reference: 2018-36 / BM-40
Decision basis: 2016 EITI Standard, Requirement 8.3 EITI Validation deadlines and consequences

29 juin 2018

Décision du Conseil d'administration

Le Conseil d'administration est arrivé à la conclusion suivante:

Le Conseil d’administration de l’ITIE convient que Sao Tomé-et-Principe a pris certaines des mesures correctives provenant de la première Validation du pays. Par conséquent, Sao Tomé-et-Principe a réalisé dans l’ensemble des progrès significatifs dans la mise en œuvre de la Norme ITIE, plusieurs Exigences individuelles ayant enregistré des améliorations considérables.

Le Conseil d’administration reconnaît les efforts déployés par Sao Tomé-et-Principe pour utiliser l’ITIE afin de gérer les attentes du public concernant les revenus potentiels et les contributions indirectes du secteur pétrolier et gazier naissant. La mise en œuvre de l’ITIE par Sao Tomé-et-Principe est également reconnue comme ayant renforcé la collaboration entre les organismes gouvernementaux et amélioré les systèmes de gestion des finances publiques du gouvernement. La deuxième Validation a confirmé les efforts faits par Sao Tomé-et-Principe pour utiliser la déclaration ITIE en tant qu’instrument de diagnostic visant à appuyer les réformes du système d’octroi de licences, la supervision des dépenses sociales des entreprises et la gestion des revenus infranationaux.

Le Conseil d’administration se réjouit des efforts en cours pour examiner plus avant les possibilités d’améliorer les divulgations du gouvernement et des entreprises par le biais de divulgations systématiques. Le Groupe multipartite devra continuer à garantir le respect des Principes de l’ITIE et des Exigences de la Norme ITIE.

Le Conseil d’administration a déterminé que Sao Tomé-et-Principe disposera d’un délai de 12 mois, c’est-à-dire jusqu’au 29 juin 2019 avant que n’ait lieu une troisième Validation pour mener les mesures correctives requises concernant les Exigences liées à l’octroi des licences (2.2), au registre des licences (2.3) et à la qualité des données (4.9). Si le pays n’accomplit pas de progrès significatifs, assortis d’améliorations substantielles concernant plusieurs Exigences individuelles lors de la troisième Validation, il s’exposera à une suspension conformément à la Norme ITIE. Comme le prévoit la Norme ITIE, le Groupe multipartite de Sao Tomé-et-Principe aura la possibilité de demander une prorogation de ce délai ou de demander que la Validation commence plus tôt que prévu.

Mesures correctives et recommandations stratégiques

Le Conseil d’administration de l’ITIE a convenu que São Tomé et Príncipe devait prendre les mesures correctives énumérées ci-dessous. Les progrès réalisés dans la mise en place de ces mesures correctives seront évalués lors d’une troisième Validation commençant le 29 juin 2019 :

Conformément à l’Exigence 2.2 i et iii, Sao Tomé-et-Principe devra divulguer les critères techniques et financiers qui ont été utilisés dans les octrois de licences et tout écart non négligeable par rapport au cadre légal et réglementaire qui régit les octrois et transferts de licences accordées à des entreprises couvertes par le Rapport ITIE au cours de l’exercice comptable pris en compte dans le Rapport ITIE.
En application de l’Exigence 2.3.b, Sao Tomé-et-Principe devra tenir un système de registre public ou de cadastre contenant les informations ponctuelles et exhaustives sur la date de demande concernant chaque licence octroyée aux entreprises mentionnées dans le Rapport ITIE. Lorsque des obstacles juridiques ou pratiques importants s’opposent à cette divulgation exhaustive, le Rapport ITIE devra en faire mention, les expliquer et présenter les plans du gouvernement pour surmonter ces obstacles ainsi que le calendrier prévu pour y parvenir.
Aux termes de l’Exigence 4.9.a, l’ITIE exige une évaluation visant à déterminer si ces paiements et revenus font l’objet d’un audit indépendant crédible, conformément aux normes internationales en matière d’audit. Le Groupe multipartite devra veiller à ce que les futurs Rapports ITIE comprennent une déclaration claire de l’Administrateur Indépendant sur l’exhaustivité et la fiabilité des données financières rapprochées.

Contexte

Sao Tomé-et-Principe a été admis en tant que pays candidat à l’ITIE en 2008. La première Validation de Sao Tomé-et-Principe a débuté le 1er juillet 2016. Le 8 mars 2017, le Conseil d’administration de l’ITIE a établi que Sao Tomé-et-Principe avait réalisé des progrès significatifs dans la mise en œuvre de la Norme ITIE 2016. Neuf mesures correctives ont été mises en place par le Conseil d’administration de l’ITIE, portant sur les exigences suivantes :

Gouvernance du Groupe multipartite (Exigence 1.4)
Plan de travail (Exigence 1.5)
Octrois de licences (Exigence 2.2)
Registre de licences (Exigence 2.3)
Données sur les activités d’exploration (Exigence 3.1)
Qualité des données (Exigence 4.9)
Dépenses sociales (Exigence 6.1)
Suivi des recommandations (Exigence 7.3)
Résultats et impact (Exigence 7.4)

Le Conseil d’administration a demandé à Sao Tomé-et-Principe d’examiner ces mesures correctives qui seront évaluées lors de la deuxième Validation. Sao Tomé-et-Principe a entrepris un certain nombre d’activités pour mettre en œuvre les mesures correctives :

Lors de sa réunion du 27 janvier 2017, le Groupe multipartite a désigné PWC (Portugal) en tant qu’Administrateur Indépendant pour le Rapport ITIE 2015.
Le 16 mars 2017, le Groupe multipartite a approuvé le cadre du Rapport ITIE 2015 en concertation avec l’Administrateur Indépendant.
Le 28 septembre 2017, le Groupe multipartite a approuvé le rapport annuel d’avancement 2016, à la lumière des mesures correctives liées à l’Exigence 7.4.
Le 5 octobre 2017, le Groupe multipartite a approuvé les Termes de Référence et le plan de travail 2017-2018 révisés, à la lumière des mesures correctives liées aux Exigences 1.4 et 1.5.
Le 22 décembre 2017, le Rapport ITIE 2015 approuvé par le Groupe multipartite a été publié.
Le 2 avril 2018, le gouvernement a invité les parties prenantes de l’ITIE à sélectionner à nouveau leurs représentants au sein du Groupe multipartite, conformément aux TdR approuvés.

La deuxième Validation de Sao Tomé-et-Principe a débuté le 8 mars 2018. Le Secrétariat a évalué les progrès que le pays a accomplis dans l’exécution des neuf mesures correctives déterminées par le Conseil d’administration de l’ITIE. L’évaluation du Secrétariat international de l’ITIE est que Sao Tomé-et-Principe a entièrement mis en œuvre six des neuf mesures correctives, des améliorations significatives ayant été apportées au sujet des trois autres exigences. Le projet d’évaluation a été envoyé au Groupe multipartite le 1^er juin 2018. Suite aux commentaires reçus le 25 juin 2018, l’évaluation a été finalisée en vue de sa soumission à l’examen du Conseil d’administration de l’ITIE.

Assessment of EITI requirements

Not met
Partly met
Mostly met
Fully met
Exceeded

Scorecard by requirement View more	Assessment View more
Overall Progress
MSG oversight
1.1Government engagement
The government is fully, actively and effectively engaged in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the EITI process. Government representatives are taking part in outreach and efforts to promote public debate. While there has been continued and consistent support expressed by the government, challenges remain with respect to obtaining data on the Joint Development Zone with Nigeria from the Joint Development Authorities.
1.2Company engagement
Companies with presence in the country are actively and effectively engaged in the EITI process. There has been a positive step to expand company representation on the multi-stakeholder group (MSG), but there are also limitations in engaging any companies within the Joint Development Zone. Companies can also be more proactive particularly in outreach and information dissemination for their constituency and with other stakeholder groups.
1.3Civil society engagement
The active involvement of some civil society organisations in São Tomé and Princípe EITI demonstrates that civil society are fully, actively and effectively engaged in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the EITI process. There is however a continuing need for greater capacity and knowledge regarding the oil sector and transparency, as well as financial resources to support their operations.
1.4MSG governance
The MSG approved a revised ToR in 2017, defining the MSG’s roles and responsibilities in accordance with Requirement 1.4.b. The MSG has initiated a renewal of its membership, ensuring that all constituencies are adequately represented and qualified. Internal nominations procedures for selecting MSG representatives have been codified.
1.5Work plan
In accordance with requirement 1.5, the MSG approved an updated fully-costed work plan in October 2017. The objectives are in harmony with national priorities and outline plans for addressing capacity constraints that could form obstacles to EITI implementation. The work plan addresses the scope of EITI reporting.
Licenses and contracts
2.2License allocations
The 2015 EITI Report contains a description of the process for transferring or awarding licenses and information about the recipients and consortium members where applicable. Information on transfers and non-trivial deviations from the applicable framework governing license transfers aren’t reported.
2.3License register
Dates of application are not publicly available for contracts and licenses held by companies within the scope of reporting.
2.4Policy on contract disclosure
Building on its clarification of the government’s policy on contract disclosure in previous EITI Reports, the MSG has worked with relevant stakeholders to publish all active oil and gas contracts, aside from the PSC for Block 2 concluded with Sinoangol, as encouraged by the EITI Standard.
2.1Legal framework
The 2014 EITI Report contains an overview of the legal framework and fiscal regime governing the extractive sector.
2.5Beneficial ownership	Not assessed
The multi-stakeholder group has initiated discussions related to disclosure of beneficial owners of companies operating in both the J Joint Development Zone and the Exclusive Economic Zone, and is considering to request beneficial ownership information in forthcoming EITI Reports. Disclosure of beneficial ownership is also an objective in the 2016 work plan.
2.6State participation
The 2014 EITI Report describes the participation of the government in production sharing agreements in the Exclusive Economic Zone and details this block-by block. The report explains that holdings are monitored by the National Petroleum Agency and sets out the terms of state participation. Until production, the company covers all costs. Accordingly, to date, state participation has not led to any revenues or costs.
Monitoring production
3.1Exploration data
The 2015 EITI Report provides an overview of the extractive industries in STP, including significant exploration activities in the EEZ. Gaps in coverage of activities in the JDZ are not assessed in terms of compliance with Requirement 3.1, given the Board’s prior approval of adapted implementation for the 2015 and 2016 EITI Reports.
3.2Production data	Not applicable
There is no production in the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Joint Development Zone. The requirement on production data is therefore not applicable to São Tomé and Princípe.
3.3Export data	Not applicable
There being no production, there are no exports from the Exclusive Economic Zone or the Joint Development Zone. The requirement on export data is therefore not applicable to São Tomé and Princípe.
Revenue collection
4.3Barter agreements	Not applicable
There is no evidence suggesting that infrastructure provisions and barter arrangements exist. The requirement on infrastructure provisions and barter arrangements is therefore not applicable to São Tomé and Princípe.
4.6Direct subnational payments	Not applicable
There are no provisions on direct subnational payments and no indication that extractive companies make payments to sub-national levels of government. The requirement on subnational direct payments is therefore not applicable to São Tomé and Principe.
4.7Disaggregation
The 2014 EITI Report presents revenue data by individual company and revenue stream, and revenue is also presented by individual government entity.
4.9Data quality
The 2015 EITI Report provides a detailed description of the approach to ensuring the reliability of reconciled data, review of audit and assurance procedures and practices, description of the assurance procedures and an assessment of the materiality of non-complying entities. The report excludes a clear statement by the IA on the comprehensiveness and reliability of the reconciled financial data.
4.1Comprehensiveness
The multi-stakeholder group has agreed a clear definition of materiality and materiality thresholds for company and government reporting, and the rationale is documented. Revenue flows are mapped out and all payments by companies (and receipts by government) from the Exclusive Economic Zone are included in the report and there were no financial flows from the Joint Development Zone in 2014.
4.2In-kind revenues	Not applicable
There is no production and thus no in-kind revenue collected by the government. The requirement on in-kind revenues is therefore not applicable to São Tomé and Princípe.
4.4Transportation revenues	Not applicable
There is no indication that revenues from the transportation of commodities would constitute one of the largest revenue streams. The requirement on transportation revenue is not applicable to São Tomé and Princípe.
4.5SOE transactions	Not applicable
There is no extractive sector state-owned enterprise in São Tomé and Princípe. The requirement on transactions between state-owned enterprises and government is therefore not applicable.
4.8Data timeliness
The 2014 EITI Report was published in October 2015, less than one year after the end of the financial year.
Revenue allocation
5.1Distribution of revenues
Extractive revenues that are not recorded in the budget and their relation to the national budget are explained in the 2015 EITI Report. The detailed description of off-budget revenues and the reconciliation of transfers from the national oil account to the budget demonstrates that STP has gone beyond Requirement 5.1.
5.2Subnational transfers	Not applicable
Sub-national transfers are disclosed in the 2014 EITI Report. The legal provision related to subnational transfers of oil revenues is referenced, and the revenue sharing formula explained. There is no explanation for how the revenues are shared among the municipalities. Discrepancies between calculated and actual transfers are disclosed. Subnational transfers since the establishment of the Exclusive Economic Zone are reported by year, as absolute figures, share of the state budget and share of oil revenues.
5.3Revenue management and expenditures	Not assessed
The report describes all income to the National Oil Account from the Joint Development Authority and companies in the Exclusive Economic Zone and transfers to the treasury since 2005, and reconciles the transfers from the Central Bank (National Oil Account) to the treasury for 2003-14. The report also documents whether transfers were in line with the law. The report also includes the annual budgets of the Joint Development Authority for 2003-2014, and the contributions to the budget made by companies and governments.
Socio-economic contribution
6.1Mandatory social expenditures
The 2015 EITI Report clearly distinguishes between mandatory and voluntary social expenditures. It discloses comprehensive information on mandatory social contributions by companies in accordance to the PSCs, disclosures of mandatory social expenditures by companies disaggregated by project, beneficiary and between cash and in-kind expenditures.
6.2Quasi-fiscal expenditures	Not applicable
There is no extractive sector state-owned enterprise in São Tomé and Princípe. The requirement on quasi-fiscal expenditures by state-owned enterprises is therefore not applicable.
6.3Economic contribution
The 2014 EITI Report includes, in absolute and relative terms, the contribution of the extractive industries to government revenue, exports and employment. GDP and other general information on the economy are presented in the report, but the contribution of the oil sector is not mentioned. With no production this is likely to be negligible.
Outcomes and impact
7.2Data accessibility	Not assessed
EITI data is accessible, machine-readable and actively disseminated, both in print and summarised formats. There is no reference to national revenue classification systems or international standards in the EITI Reports.
7.4Outcomes and impact of implementation
The 2016 annual progress report has been made publicly available and provides a summary of the MSG’s follow-up on past EITI recommendations, as well as a narrative account of efforts to strengthen implementation and general observations on the impact of EITI implementation.
7.1Public debate
The MSG has sought to ensure the EITI Reports are comprehensible, written in a clear style and actively promoted. The reports include information of national relevance that goes beyond the EITI Requirements and provides facts for public debate on the management of oil revenue, social projects and the management of the Joint Development Zone. Media references to the findings of the EITI Reports have been relatively few but have clearly resulted from outreach activities by São Tomé and Princípe EITI.
7.3Follow up on recommendations
The 2016 annual progress report and 2015 EITI Report detail the MSG’s follow-up on recommendations of STP’s EITI Reports and Validation. The MSG has actively followed up on past recommendations and the 2017-18 work plan has been updated with specific objectives and activities related to follow-up on EITI recommendations.