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EITI week in the Congos

EITI week in the Congos

1. «As we prepare for the upcoming Board meeting and events in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo, it is perhaps the time to reflect on what EITI membership means. It is important to stress that the EITI is not a seal of approval, but a sign of change.» This is how the EITI Chair Clare Short recently opened a blog contribution. When the EITI International Board holds its 29th meeting in Brazzaville on 14-15 April it will begin by discussing challenges and opportunities for the EITI in the next 3-5 years.

The Board will also examine progress in implementing countries and consider recent progress in countries preparing to implement the EITI, including Mexico. The EITI status in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Liberia and Tajikistan will in particular be considered. 

The Board will discuss thematic issues such as beneficial ownership reporting and touch on various governance and housekeeping issues in the run up to the next Global Conference, due to take place in Lima, Peru, in the first quarter of 2016.

2. In addition to the Board meeting, there are a number of related meetings taking place in Brazzaville, Kinshasa and Lubumbashi, bringing together hundreds of people from over 50 countries. “The programme reflects progress in how natural resources are being governed” says Jonas Moberg, head of the EITI international Secretariat.

For a schedule of the meetings and events, please refer to meetings.

Representatives of National Oil Companies (NOC) from Angola (Sonangol), Cameroon (SNH), Chad (SHT), Côte d'Ivoire (Petroci), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Cohydro), Ghana (GNPC), Nigeria (NNPC), and the Republic of the Congo (SNPC) will be hosted by the government of the Republic of the Congo, to discuss emerging good practices on reporting of oil sales by NOCs on behalf of governments.

EITI implementing countries with significant artisanal and small scale mining activities will share experiences on how the EITI might be a useful tool to address key governance challenges concerning this sector.

About 500 students at the Congo Protestant University will meet with the EITI chair Clare Short on 16 April in Kinshasa to discuss ways in which students are using data from EITI Reports to better understand governance challenges facing the sector and inform policy debates.

The EITI National Committee in the DRC will meet with parliamentarians to discuss the scope of its upcoming report and how it can be used to inform policy reforms.

As part of a visit to Lubumbashi, a Board delegation will visit a mining site at Tenke Funkurume (200 km) from Lubumbashi. The Board visit to Lubumbashi will consider how EITI implementation at the subnational level can contribute to improving local revenue management.

Training seminars for EITI National Coordinators, communication officers and civil society will take place in Kinshasa from 13-17 April. EITI National Coordinators and Communications Officers from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, the Republic of the Congo, Senegal, and Togo will share their experiences on how to collect, manage and use EITI data, discuss opportunities for linking the EITI to national priorities.

Hosted by the French Embassy, NRGI and PWYP, a workshop in Kinshasa for civil society will bring together civil society representatives from Central and Western Francophone Africa to share experiences around civil society engagement in the EITI, focussing among other things on using the data and the enabling environment. Studies on the impact of EITI implementation in the DRC, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Liberia will in particular be discussed.

If you have any general enquiries about EITI-hosted meetings during the week, please be in touch with our Regional Director Bady Balde (bbalde@eiti.org).