Berne, 22 October 2015. Malawi was accepted today as a ‘candidate’ country to the EITI, the global transparency standard. The Standard requires extensive disclosure and measures to improve accountability in how oil, gas and minerals are governed.
Clare Short, Chair of the EITI, said:
"Membership of the EITI comes at an important time in Malawi’s development, as natural resources begin to be of macroeconomic importance. The Government of Malawi has made a commitment to transparency that will help the people of Malawi ensure that natural resources are managed for their benefit."
Malawi will now implement the EITI Standard. This means that the country will publish accounts showing all payments the government receives from its extractives sector. Alongside these figures, Malawi will make public information about the license holders, the licensing process, production data, and the allocation of the revenues from its natural resources.
Going beyond the EITI requirements, Malawi plans to produce a checklist for the agencies that award licences and contracts to ensure that due diligence of investors is performed. The are also planning to disclose the beneficial owners of extractive companies.
Paulo de Sa, Practice Manager, Energy and Extractives Global Practice of the World Bank Group said:
"The World Bank applauds the Malawi Government's commitment to enhancing the transparency of its extractives sector and looks forward to supporting the EITI process through the new Extractives Global Programmatic Support (EGPS) Multi-Donor Trust Fund."
Malawi needs to meet all of the requirements in the EITI Standard within three years to become EITI compliant, including publishing the first EITI Report by 22 April 2017.
The Board’s decision in full:
The EITI Board admits Malawi as an EITI candidate country on 22 October 2015. In accordance with the EITI Standard, Malawi is required to publish its first EITI Report within 18 months of becoming a candidate, i.e. by 22 April 2017. Malawi is required to publish an annual activity report for 2015 by 1 July 2016. Validation will commence within 2.5 years of becoming a candidate (by 22 April 2018).
Notes to Editors
- The EITI is a coalition of governments, companies, civil society groups, investors and international organisations. Learn more at www.eiti.org
- EITI is chaired by the Rt. Hon. Clare Short. Ms Short was the UK Secretary of State for International Development (1997-2003).
- 49 countries are now implementing the EITI standard, and recognised as either EITI compliant or EITI candidate. See the list of countries at www.eiti.org/countries.
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