The Board agreed that Burkina Faso has made meaningful progress in implementing the 2016 EITI Standard, with considerable improvements.

Outcome of the Validation of Burkina Faso.

Decision reference: 2020-01 / BC-284
Decision basis: EITI Articles of Association 2019-2021, Article 12.1. ix)

22 January 2020

Board decision

The Board came to the following decision:

Following the conclusion of Burkina Faso’s Second Validation, the EITI Board agrees that Burkina Faso has partly addressed the corrective actions from the country’s first Validation. Consequently, Burkina Faso has made meaningful progress overall in implementing the 2016 EITI Standard, with considerable improvements across several individual requirements.

The Board commends the Government of Burkina Faso, the multi-stakeholder group (MSG) and all stakeholders for using the EITI to improve public access to information on the country’s mining industry, a key sector in the national economy. Active EITI dissemination and outreach has catalysed public debate about key issues of concern, most notably regarding the management of mining revenues at the subnational level. The Board welcomes the formalisation of decentralised multi-stakeholder consultation forums and their relationship to national EITI implementation.

The Board takes note of Burkina Faso’s plans to align the objectives of EITI implementation with its National Socio-Economic Development Plan (PNDES) and its first Open Government Partnership national action plan. Burkina Faso is encouraged to transition towards systematic disclosures of EITI data. This could improve the timeliness of its EITI reporting and focus the MSG’s attention on analysis of EITI data and following up on EITI recommendations, to drive tangible reforms in government and company systems.

The Board recognises that gaps remain in the MSG’s accountability and oversight of all aspects of EITI implementation. While work has been undertaken to update the Decree establishing the roles and responsibilities of EITI, this had yet to be enacted in practice ahead of Burkina Faso’s second Validation. The Board encourages Burkina Faso to ensure a clear and robust legal status for EITI implementation. This could help strengthen the MSG’s capacities and align the resources dedicated to EITI implementation with the desired outcomes and impacts. Burkina Faso is encouraged to leverage a responsive government and proactive civil society and industry to implement reforms improving transparency and accountability in the management of mining licenses, including through the new mining cadastre and by using EITI reporting as an annual diagnostic of license awards and transfers.

The Board has determined that Burkina Faso will have 6 months before a third Validation, i.e. until 23 July 2020, to carry out corrective actions regarding MSG oversight (Requirement 1.4)*. Failure to achieve satisfactory progress in the third Validation will result in suspension in accordance with the EITI Standard. In accordance with the EITI Standard, Burkina Faso’s Steering Committee may request an extension of this timeframe, or request that Validation commences earlier than scheduled.

*Update on Burkina Faso's commencement of next Validation from 11.08.2020: the Board agreed to extend the deadline to 27 February 2021.

Corrective actions and strategic recommendations

The EITI Board agreed the following corrective actions to be undertaken by Burkina Faso. Progress in addressing these corrective actions will be assessed in a third Validation commencing on 23 July 2020:

In accordance with Requirement 1.4, Burkina Faso should ensure that the statutory procedures for nominating and changing EITI multi-stakeholder group representatives are public and implemented in a fair, open and transparent way in practice. Burkina Faso is required to ensure that the draft EITI Decree establishing the roles and responsibilities of the MSG is enacted in practice. Burkina Faso is required to ensure that effective outreach activities are undertaken with civil society groups and companies, including through communication such as media, website and letters, informing stakeholders of the government’s commitment to implement the EITI, and the central role of companies and civil society. Members of the MSG are strongly encouraged to liaise with their constituency groups on a regular basis, and to consult broadly on EITI documents, including the annual progress report, the work plan, and the EITI Report.

Burkina Faso is encouraged to also consider the strategic recommendations in the Secretariat’s assessment.

Update on Burkina Faso's commencement of next Validation from 11.08.2020: the Board agreed to extend the deadline to 27 February 2021.

Background

Burkina Faso joined the EITI in 2009 and was declared compliant with the EITI Rules in February 2013. Burkina Faso’s second Validation commenced on 13 August 2019. The EITI International Secretariat has assessed the progress made in addressing the six corrective actions established by the EITI Board following Burkina Faso’s first Validation in 2017. The corrective actions related to:

MSG governance (Requirement 1.4)
Workplan (Requirement 1.5)
Licence register (Requirement 2.3)
State participation (Requirement 2.6)
Economic contribution (Requirement 6.3)
Follow up on Recommendations (Requirement 7.3)

The Board asked Burkina Faso to address these corrective actions to be assessed in the second Validation. Burkina Faso has undertaken a number of activities to address the corrective actions, including:

Publishing its 2017 EITI Report on 9 August 2019;
Publishing the updated MSG ToR on 24 July 2019;
Publishing the industry constituency ToR on 31 July 2019;
Publishing the civil society constituency code of conduct on 31 July 2019;
Publishing the 2019-2021 Burkina Faso EITI work plan on 26 June 2019;
Publishing an addendum on state participation in the mining sector on 8 August 2019;
Publishing a Validation auto-evaluation report and a plan to follow up on EITI recommendations on 24 July 2019.

Burkina Faso’s second Validation commenced on 13 August 2019. The Secretariat assessed the progress made in addressing the six corrective actions established by the EITI Board, as well as progress in meeting Requirement 2.2 related to license allocations. The EITI International Secretariat’s assessment is that Burkina Faso had fully addressed four of the six corrective actions, with significant improvements on one other outstanding requirement, at the commencement of Validation.

Progress in meeting Requirement 2.2 on license allocations has declined from ‘satisfactory progress’ to ‘meaningful progress’ at the start of the second Validation. However, new information disclosed since the commencement of Validation addressed the outstanding gaps on Requirements 2.2 and 2.3. The Validation Committee agreed to consider new information disclosed subsequent to the commencement of Validation and concluded that there had been no back-sliding on Requirement 2.2 on licence allocation and that Requirement 2.3 should be assessed as “satisfactory progress”. Thus, the Validation Committee’s assessment is that Burkina Faso had fully addressed five of the six corrective actions, with considerable improvements on one outstanding corrective action.

The draft assessment was sent to the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) on 25 September 2019. Following MSG comments received on 24 October 2019, the assessment was finalised for consideration by the EITI Board. The Validation Committee reviewed the case on 8 January 2020 and agreed the recommendation.

Implementation of the 2016 EITI Standard

As of: 22 January 2020

Assessment of EITI requirements

Not met
Partly met
Mostly met
Fully met
Exceeded

Download full Validation report

Scorecard by requirement View more	Assessment View more
Overall Progress
MSG oversight
1.1Government engagement
There is a strong political commitment on behalf of the government. The government has enacted legal reforms to facilitate EITI implementation, and provided adequate funding for EITI implementation.
1.2Company engagement
Mining companies are actively and effectively engaged in the EITI process, as providers of information and implementation and monitoring the EITI process. The establishment of EITI focal points in each material company demonstrates sustained industry engagement by stakeholders consulted. Industry representatives are taking part in outreach efforts to promote public debate, both at a national and regional level. Revisions to the Mining Code in 2015 have made participation in EITI reporting mandatory for all mining licenses-holders.
1.3Civil society engagement
There is a strong and vibrant civil society in Burkina Faso, which is adequately represented in the MSG. Through their active and savvy campaigning, civil society has effectively influenced policies and shaped the reform agenda for the government, including transparency provisions and new mechanisms for revenue redistributions in the new mining code. Civil society participate actively and effectively in the design, implementation and monitoring of the EITI process in Burkina Faso.
1.4MSG governance
The MSG adopted terms of reference that are aligned with all aspects of Requirement 1.4.b. The industry constituency, as well as civil society clarified procedures for nominating and renewing members on the MSG. Elaboration of the civil society code of conduct seems to have been the fruit of an open, transparent, and inclusive process. Outreach activities, consultations and communication between constituency members sititng on the MSG and those not represented on the MSG is limited.
1.5Work plan
Stakeholders on the MSG consider that the elaboration and drafting of the triennial work plan (2019 -2021) was the fruit of an inclusive, open and collaborative process. The work plan reflects the national priorities for the mining sector. The 2019 -2021 work plan is fully costed, includes measurable results, funding sources and is published on the EITI website.
Licenses and contracts
2.2License allocations
The 2017 EITI Report describes the statutory license allocation and transfer procedures. However, it does not highlight non-trivial deviations from the statutory procedures for awards and transfers in 2017. The DGCM note confirms awards were made in accordance with the statutory licence allocation process.
2.3License register
The EITI Report provides a list of mining licenses active in 2017, as well as information on license holders, dates of award and expiry, commodities and decree awarding the license, but not dates of application or license coordinates. In order to disclose missing data points on licences, the MSG has published all licence award decrees.
2.4Policy on contract disclosure
The 2015 EITI Report clarifies the government’s policy on contract disclosure in the mining sector, although it does not clarify whether this 2015 policy is applied retroactively to contracts concluded prior to 2015. While the report comments on actual disclosure practice, noting that decrees approving and summarizing key terms of contracts are published but full-text of contracts are not (aside from Newmont’s Tambao contract), it does not provide guidance on how to access the full text of any contracts.
2.1Legal framework
The 2015 EITI Report includes a summary description of the fiscal regime, including the level of fiscal devolution, an overview of the relevant laws and regulation and information on the roles and responsibilities of the relevant government agencies. The report also includes coverage of ongoing reforms.
2.5Beneficial ownership	Not assessed
The 2015 EITI Report notes that there is no clear government policy on beneficial ownership disclosure in extractives companies but provides information on the legal ownership of all but three material companies. While the MSG piloted beneficial ownership reporting in the 2015 EITI Report, only two companies reported details of physical owners.
2.6State participation
The 2017 EITI Report provides an explanation of the prevailing rules and practices regarding the financial relationship between the government and SOEs, lists state participations in the mining sector, and describes the terms associated with the state’s 10% free-carry equity in mining projects. None of the SOEs generated material payments and the state did not provide any loans or guarantees to SOEs or mining companies in 2017.
Monitoring production
3.1Exploration data
The 2015 EITI Report includes an overview of the extractive industries, including any significant exploration activities.
3.2Production data
The 2015 EITI Report provides official production volumes for gold, zinc and quarrying minerals (granite, limestone, clay and feldspar) but production values are not disclosed for granite, limestone, clay and feldspar. Given the significant difference between gold production volumes between official government sources and EITI reporting, likely due to the large size of artisanal-mined gold production, it cannot be concluded that the production values reported in the 2015 EITI Report are comprehensive.
3.3Export data
The 2015 EITI Report discloses export volumes and values for the two largest mineral exports in 2015 (gold and zinc), sourced from material companies’ EITI reporting, but only provides official statistics on the export values of these two minerals, not export volumes. Meanwhile the volumes and values of “other mineral exports” is only provided in aggregate, rather than disaggregated by mineral commodity, although the aggregate value of these exports appears marginal at USD 1,801. There is no distinction between industrial and artisanal production in the report.
Revenue collection
4.3Barter agreements	Not applicable
This Requirement 4.3 is not applicable to Burkina Faso in the year under review (2015), given the lack of evidence of any payments related to infrastructure provisions of the Tambao contract and the consensus amongst stakeholders consulted over the absence of such payments in 2015.
4.6Direct subnational payments	Not applicable
The 2015 EITI Report clearly states that municipal taxes are not specific to mining companies and thus not considered extractives-related direct subnational payments.
4.7Disaggregation
The data in the 2015 EITI Report is disaggregated by individual company, government entity and reporting entity.
4.9Data quality
The MSG appears to have approved the selection of the IA for the 2015 EITI Report, including ToRs consistent with the Board-approved template, as well as the reporting templates. While the IA appears to have reviewed material entities’ statutory audit procedures prior to agreeing quality assurance procedures for ensuring the reliability of reconciled data in the 2015 EITI Report, there is no evidence that the IA reviewed reporting entities’ actual audit practices. The 2015 EITI Report assesses the materiality of payments from entities that did not comply with the agreed quality assurance procedures and provides an overall assessment of the comprehensiveness and reliability of the 2015 EITI Report. The IA has not prepared summary tables of data in Burkina Faso’s EITI Reports.
4.1Comprehensiveness
The 2015 EITI Report includes a definition of the materiality threshold for payments and companies to be included in reconciliation. The MSG was involved in setting the materiality threshold for payments and for companies and all revenue flows listed in Requirement 4.1.b have been included in the scope of reconciliation. The companies that did not report are named and the value of their payments to government is provided relative to government-reported revenues. The share of non-reporting companies appears to be insignificant. The 2015 EITI Report states that all material government entities reported all revenues. The report also includes the IA’s commentary on the comprehensiveness of the EITI report.
4.2In-kind revenues	Not applicable
The 2015 EITI Report states that the Mining Code and model mining contract do not provide for the possibility of paying any mining-related taxes or fees in kind.
4.4Transportation revenues	Not applicable
The 2015 EITI Report states that the government does not receive transportation revenues related to the transport of mineral commodities, in the sense of Requirement 4.4.
4.5SOE transactions	Not applicable
State’s participation in the extractive sector is managed directly by the treasury (DGTCP), which received USD 4,589,454 in dividends from mining companies in 2015. The newly created SOE, SOPAMIB that would manage state participation in the future was not operational during the period under review (2015), therefore no dividends transited through SOEs. Other SOEs operational in the mining sector (BUMIGEB and SEPB) receive government funding rather than make payments to the government.
4.8Data timeliness
All of Burkina Faso’s EITI Reports under the EITI Standard have been published within two years of the close of the fiscal year(s) under review.
Revenue allocation
5.1Distribution of revenues
The 2015 EITI Report indicates that all extractive industry revenues are recorded in the national budget, highlighting non-extractives revenues that are not recorded in the national budget.
5.2Subnational transfers
The 2015 EITI Report describes statutory subnational transfers of mining revenues, provides the general formula and the central government’s unilateral disclosures of actual transfers for 2015, disaggregated by subnational government. While the 2015 EITI Report does not provide the value of budgeted subnational transfers disaggregated by subnational government (only in aggregate), it provides sufficient information to calculate what each subnational government should have received according to the formula.
5.3Revenue management and expenditures	Not assessed
The 2015 EITI Report clearly describes and discloses the value of earmarked extractives revenues in 2015 and provides some information on the government’s budget-making and audit procedures.
Socio-economic contribution
6.1Mandatory social expenditures
There is a case for considering that Requirement 6.1 was not applicable to Burkina Faso in 2015, given that the 2015 EITI Report and stakeholder consultations confirmed that there were no mandatory social expenditures required by law or contract in 2015. However, given the MSG’s efforts to address “encouraged” aspects of the requirement by presenting companies’ unilateral disclosures of their voluntary social expenditures, albeit without reconciling these, the International Secretariat considers that Burkina Faso has made satisfactory progress in meeting this requirement.
6.2Quasi-fiscal expenditures	Not applicable
While the 2015 EITI Report does not sufficiently address the issue of quasi-fiscal expenditures, stakeholder consultations confirmed that SOEs did not undertake such expenditures in 2015.
6.3Economic contribution
The 2017 EITI Report provided comprehensive disclosures on employment in the mining sector, in absolute terms and as a share of total employment, as well as on artisanal and small-scale mining. All other data listed in Requirement 6.3 have also been publicly disclosed.
Outcomes and impact
7.2Data accessibility	Not assessed
Burkina Faso’s EITI produces brief summaries of EITI Reports and has undertaken capacity building efforts to support the use of EITI data. As encouraged by the 2016 EITI Standard, the initiative is now considering automated online disclosure of production and export data through the Burkina Open Data Initiative.
7.4Outcomes and impact of implementation
The 2016 annual progress report includes a summary of activities and assessments of progress in meeting EITI Requirements, in achieving the objectives set out in the EITI work plan and in addressing the recommendations from reconciliation and Validation.
7.1Public debate
Burkina Faso’s EITI Reports are comprehensible, actively promoted through varied channels (including print, online and through active outreach), publicly accessible and have tangibly contributed to public debate on the extractive industries in the country, particularly on the issue of subnational transfers. The government has published a clear policy on the access, release and re-use of EITI data and the EITI report is available online in an open data format.
7.3Follow up on recommendations
The MSG published a self-assessment report to review progress in addressing corrective measures, as well as implementation of recommendations stemming from EITI reporting and Validation.The MSG published an addendum to the EITI Report presenting its mechanism to monitor and follow-up on recommendations.