THE Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) board in Oslo, Norway, has designated Zambia EITI-compliant, a global standard that ensures transparency of revenues from a country’s extractive sector.
And the World Bank has commended Zambia on achieving EITI-compliant status saying it sends a strong signal to citizens about Government’s commitment to transparency in the mining sector.
The EITI is a coalition of governments, companies, civil society groups, investors and international organisations with a total of 36 countries implementing EITI, 15 compliant and 21 countries as candidates.
Zambia becomes the 15th EITI-compliant country and the first in Eastern and Central Africa Region.
In a statement, World Bank, country director for Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe Kundhavi Kadiresan said EITI is an important international standard and the World Bank is greatly encouraged by the effort made by Zambia to meet this global standard, and reach the EITI-compliance milestone.
Dr Kadiresan said more work lies ahead for Government and ZEITI stakeholders to continue to build on the achievements, continue to strengthen and deepen ZEITI as a means to build dialogue.
EITI compliance means that the country has an effective process for annual disclosure and reconciliation of all revenues from its extractive sector, allowing citizens to see how their country receives from oil, gas and mining companies.
She said it is important to achieve stronger national consensus on the key role that minerals play in Zambia’s development and poverty reduction.
The World Bank and the EITI multi-donor trust fund (MDTF) has been supporting the EITI processes, national civil groups in almost all EITI-implementing countries, national civil society groups and helping outreach to new countries and stakeholders interested in EITI.
World Bank oil gas and mining unit, which manages the donor-funded EITI MDTF, sector manager, Paulo de Sa said the bank has been providing technical assistance, funding support to Zambia and other EITI countries’ transparency efforts, as a pathway to development and poverty reduction through better management of natural resources.
The World Bank in Lusaka and its partners have supported Zambia EITI since its launch in 2008, and the national civil society groups to take an effective part in ZEITI process.
The EITI process in Zambia, in line with the international EITI standard, commits mining companies in Zambia to publishing the payments they make to government and commits government to publishing the revenues they receive from these companies.
These two sets of numbers are matched up and published, giving citizens the opportunity to know of the income generated by extracting Zambia’s natural resources like copper, cobalt, gold and other minerals.
Zambia has to date published two such EITI Reports and the third, for 2010, is in process.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
We await to hear some childish negative spin on this positive development from HH and and brainless cadres.
meant…. his brainless…
@1,2. What has a project initiated by the MMD and World Bank in 2008 got anything to do with HH let alone your Pathetic Fools?
#3
There you go as predicted, you guys never disappoint.
Seriously! you guys never disapoint! always wanting to argue insult on any little stupid thing, awe this is tiring mwe!
Nevertheless, keep a vicious practical monitoring mechanism. They will still hide figures  and precious metal content. They will export slury of gold and silver abroad without disclosing amount earned oout of it. Be vigilant like the Tswanas are with their diamonds. Be awake every time, trusting invetors to report to you on their own will make us continue loosing out. Be awake at all time and verify what is reported by inspections.