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THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN ENSURING A QUALITATIVE EITI REPORT
Introduction
The Extractive Industry Transparency (EITI) was established in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable development in South Africa. This brought together several key actors such as companies, the global coalition of governments, and civil society organizations with the aim of getting investors to promote transparency in the receipt and payment of natural resources and revenues.
This essay therefore seeks to examine the role of the civil society in ensuring a qualitative EITI report. This can be seen in the manner in which revenues generated from the minerals and oil is in this case utilized in the transformation of different economies with the aim of reducing poverty and raising the standards of living for different population in resource-rich nations (Sovacool, & Andrews, 2015).
When different states introduce the element of EITI, the governments within these states make a commitment of strengthening the aspect of transparency in its natural resource revenues with the citizens of these states also committing to holding the government accountable in the manner in which these resources are dispensed. This aids in the building of prosperous and stable societies that function in an effective manner in the global economy.
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On the other hand, much of ETI’s development is owed to the civil society. This clearly depicts the fact that without the existence of the civil society, ETI would not be functional. This is attributed to the fact that the civil society makes concerted advocacy approaches that sees the extractive companies publish their payments to the host governments. Consequently, close to 400 civil society organizations have been committed to the participation of governance through the implementation of ETI in resource rich states around the globe (Sovacool, & Andrews, 2015).
ETI in this case provides a governance approach that advances revenue transparency within the gas, mining and oil sector through an approach that stresses the need of multi-stakeholder approach with integrated roles of the civil society, the governments and extractive companies. Thus the key elements of the success of this approach lies in the ability of developing dialogue that fosters the collaboration between different players in the development, monitoring and evaluation of EITI.
The engagement of the civil society occurs in overseeing the implementation of EITI in countries and within the international EITI board. The civil society organizations therefore remains fully involved in the EITI process through the publication of EITI reports and in the use of figures within these reports. This paper therefore seeks to determine the role of civil society in ensuring a qualitative EITI report.
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The EITI Principles
According to Aaronson (2011), the EITI principles were first developed in one of the conferences that were held in London in 2003. During this conference, a diverse group of states, civil society organizations and companies including the investors agreed upon a statement of principles that were develop to ensure there is an increase in transparency over the payments of revenues in the extractive sector. These therefore saw the EITI principles that are considered as the cornerstone of this initiative. Some of the principles that EITI presents include:
- EITI believes in the aspect of prudently using natural resources as an essential element for the development of a sustainable economy and development that would in turn impact poverty reduction approaches (Aaronson, 2011). If the proponents of EITI are not fairly management, this would result in a negative economic and social impact.
- EITI on the other hand affirms the management of wealth accrued from natural resources to benefit the citizens of a country within the domains of sovereign governments, a factor that needs to be exercised within the interests of national development.
- Additionally, EITI affirms that the benefit it’s accrued from the extraction of mineral resources occurs over a revenue stream over a long period of time, a factor that depicts the high dependency on the prices (Aaronson, 2011). In other words, EITI recognizes that there is a need that a public understanding of the revenue generated by the government and expenditures could aid in public debates that inform in the making of public choices and options that are driven for sustainable development.
- The process also underlines the essence of transparency by governments and organizations within the extractive industry and the significance of enhancing a public financial management and accountability system through a strategy that focuses in respect of laws and contracts (Aaronson, 2011).
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Benefits for Local Communities and Civil Society Organisations
The general climate of transparency is one that ensures the civil society groups are empowered. An instance of this can be viewed in the implementation of EITI that facilitates the public participation in governance and improves the access to information for civil societies. The local community in this case benefits from the increases in revenues, while the aspect of accountability, justice, good governance and anti-corruption are promoted and reinforced (Aaronson, 2011).
Civil society organizations are also meant to benefit from the improved relations and influence with governments and companies including the increased opportunities that are directed towards building and strengthening different networks with the international organizations and investors, strengthened public institutions, enhanced governance and citizens who are aware of the empowerment.
The Role of Civil Society in Ensuring a Qualitative EITI Report
As argued, a solid participation of the civil society has the capacity to lead the way in the better implementation and a reinforced disclosure of high quality EITI reports. However, the participation of the civil society needs to be observed in the delivery of EITI results that go beyond the principles of dialogue and the dissemination of reports. It is essential to note that the civil society’s engagement role in ensuring a qualitative EITI report occurs both on the international EITI Boards and in the countries that implement the EITI process as part of the multi-stakeholder groups that have the capacity to oversee the EITI (Holden, & Jacobson, 2007).
Civil society organizations in this case are granted the opportunity for involvement in the process of EITI from the preparation to the publication of EITI reports and most essentially in the use of the figures presented in the EITI reports. These groups therefore mirror the structures of the EITI Board in which the relevant stakeholders are considered to play an inherent and valuable role in the determination of governance in the EITI priorities.
The civil society in this case has the capacity to discuss the aspects of revenue transparency and increasingly contribute their experiences and expertise in fostering dialogues with different stakeholders. In some states, the civil society groups are considered to be in the forefront in popularizing EITI. In other regions, the civil society also works to support the legislative process that aims at strengthening and advancing the agendas of resource and revenue transparency (Holden, & Jacobson, 2007).
This clearly depicts that the role of the civil society can be seen in their activities that can be viewed in the monitoring and implementation of national dialogue on the issues that are not covered directly by EITI including the use of revenues that are accrued from the extractive sector.
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Experiences that emerge from the implementation of EITI clearly shows that the civil society groups are bound to face several challenges within a state’s level that include the lack of capacity constraints, the lack of resources and other security issues (Pal, & Pantaleo, 2008). However, the EITI Board has a functionally developed range of policy responses that are determined in the strengthening of the EITI requirements aimed at ensuring the civil society groups are fully interdependent and are provided with the opportunity to get engaged within the stages of EITI process.
Within the context of governance and development, the civil society is considered as a third sector that is distinct from the business and government that are functioning as an intermediary institution in ensuring that the issues that deal with the interests of the public within the public domain are coordinated through advocacy (Pal, & Pantaleo, 2008).
The goal of this is to ensure these issues are addressed and effectively implemented in order to serve the common interest and good of the society. This depicts that the civil society includes and is not limited to institutions and other groups that include the independent media, religious groups, professional associations, student unions, labor unions, community and township union’s, citizen advocacy organizations among others.
The non-governmental organizations in this case through their activities, principled positions and strong beliefs have the capacity of voicing out their principled positions to the sectors of the society through an approach that promotes discussions, debates, and constructive engagements. These roles are developed to enrich the public’s participation in the decision making process thus strengthening good governance, accountability and democratic principles (Frynas, 2010).
It could be argued out that these reasons determine the manner in which the concepts of EITI is built on a multi-stakeholder approach that involves several key players such as the government, the civil society and other companies. These stakeholders therefore play distinct roles in the EITI process. However, the civil society plays an essential role in the streamlining of the processes of EITI even though these roles are considered as unclear in several implementing countries. Some of the roles of the civil society would also include:
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Identification
The civil society organizations beside the aspect of dialogue also share the view that it is their responsibility to identify the key issues that are within the interest of the public and that relate to the mandate of the EITI process that are directed towards extractive revenue transparency, the process of governance and ensure that the identified issues are addressed and brought within the public domain for debate and dialogue (Calland, & Bentley, 2013).
Some of the issues that the civil society organizations clearly focus on include the process of leasing, oil block allocations, bidding rounds, the issuance of mining licenses, physical, financial and process management, the environmental standards and so on. Governance in this case can only be improved in the event that the lapses in the issues that are identified with the civil society organizations are identifies and channeled as tools for advocacy.
Agenda Setting
The civil society is different states consider the aspect of agenda setting as their traditional responsibility and a primary tool of their engagement (Calland, & Bentley, 2013). Under these roles, the civil society organizations identify some of the issues that are related to the EITI mandate and use these issues to set national and international agendas for the publics discourse, debate and engagement with the governments and the extractive revenue companies with the aim of improving the aspect of governance through a transparent process and accountability that is done through the use of EITI frameworks.
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Public Education and Enlightenment
The element of public education and enlightenment in this case is another role of the civil society even though individuals tend to think these needs to be left for the media alone. The civil society therefore makes use of these roles to command influence through the use of both the informal and formal approaches of communication in a language that gives understanding to the people.
This would in some instances call for the development of deliberate staged events that would see the inclusion of conferences, workshops, town meetings and other events directed towards enlightenment and education on the EITI process and extractive revenues (Mejía Acosta, 2013). However, it is vital to consider the fact that where literacy levels are considerably low and the government’s involvement in the organization of programs are viewed with mistrust and suspicion, the achievement of this role may be challenging.
Agents of Social Mobilization and Change
The civil society organizations also make use of the fact that for the process of EITI to secure the public’s interests required within the sector, there is a need of providing a supporting role-that of acting as the agents of social mobilization and change (Mejía Acosta, 2013).
In this case, it is essential to consider that these roles include the sustained mobilization of the opinions of the public with the aim of advancing the course of the EITI process within the areas of legislative processes and policy formulations. These are known and have been considered to come in the form of peaceful protests, resource mechanization and petitions.
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Monitoring and Oversight
It is additionally essential to consider that the civil society organizations are also tasked with the responsibility of monitoring the processes and programs of EITI including the policies and the unfolding events within the extractive sector and ensure that accurate reports and facts are provided with the view of directing the appropriate course of action that can improve the process of governance (Mejía Acosta, 2014).
The monitoring and oversight in this case needs to be community based and people driven, In order to carry out these functions in an effective manner, the civil society organizations, there is a need of adequately equipping the civil society organizations on the issues that are directed towards strengthening the EITI process in discharging its full mandates.
Advisory
Advisory in this case gives the position of the civil society organizations as some of the professionals within this field that offer fair, profound, qualitative and constructive advice to the EITI processes and in the implementation of an effective EITI process (Mejía Acosta, 2014). The EITI Board in this case needs to be open to advices within the areas of their operations and publicly acknowledge the contribution of the civil society within the EITI process.
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Whistle Blowing
The civil society remains in a better position to blow the whistle in the event that extractive revenue transparency functions of the EITI process are not clearly following their mandates. This would therefore see the civil society active is in the exposition of fraudulent practices, process lapses, bribery, corruption, and dishonest dealings with individuals at any stage within the EITI process (Magner, 2015).
The functions of whistle blowing as conducted by the civil society may also be used to attract and draw the attention of the areas that have achieved poor performance and that have been neglected and the failures in the rise of statutory responsibilities (Mejía Acosta, 2014). The use of this tool in advocacy in this case comes in different dimensions. This function keeps the EITI Board involved in solving some of the issues that are raised in order to function in an effective manner. The civil society needs to be equipped with integrity, knowledge and facts within this interest.
Observation
The civil society has the mandate of taking up the roles of being the observers within certain activities in the EITI process in consultation with the Board and the secretariat. These roles also include the formulation of procurement processes for some of the projects, budget preparations, the development of annual work-plans, and meetings held with the public in situations that are advisable (Magner, 2015).
In performing these roles, civil society organizations are considered to have the right to engage in independent reporting of these events and give EITI Board the opportunity to make their final comments on these reports before they are disseminated.
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Feedback
The role of the civil society in providing feedback in this case is considered as essential and desirable within the processes of EITI (Mouan, 2010). Many of the civil society organizations in this case draw from professional groupings, coalitions, and clusters and take up the full charge and role of providing adequate feedback to their states through a process that extends to the larger publics interests with the aim of addressing the issues of interests.
In this case, it is arguable that the civil society besides engaging in dialogue within the EITI process is also engaged in several other processes. The general climate of transparency is one that ensures the civil society groups are empowered. An instance of this can be viewed in the implementation of EITI that facilitates the public participation in governance and improves the access to information for civil societies (Mouan, 2010).
The local community in this case benefits from the increases in revenues, while the aspect of accountability, justice, good governance and anti-corruption are promoted and reinforced. The engagement of the civil society occurs in overseeing the implementation of EITI in countries and within the international EITI board. The civil society organizations therefore remains fully involved in the EITI process through the publication of EITI reports and in the use of figures within these reports. This paper therefore seeks to determine the role of civil society in ensuring a qualitative EITI report.
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Conclusion
As determined in this study, the Extractive Industry Transparency (EITI) was established in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable development in South Africa. This brought together several key actors such as companies, the global coalition of governments and civil society organizations with the aim of getting investors to promote transparency in the receipt and payment of natural resources and revenues (Mouan, 2010).
EITI in this case provides a governance approach that advances revenue transparency within the gas, mining, and oil sector through an approach that stresses the need of multi-stakeholder approach with integrated roles of the civil society, the governments and extractive companies. Thus the key elements of the success of this approach lies in the ability of developing dialogue that fosters the collaboration between different players in the development, monitoring and evaluation of EITI.
The solid participation of the civil society has the capacity to lead the way in the better implementation and a reinforced disclosure of high quality EITI reports. This can be achieved when the civil society in this case has the capacity to discuss the aspects of revenue transparency and increasingly contribute their experiences and expertise in fostering dialogues with different stakeholders. In some states, the civil society groups are considered to be in the forefront in popularizing EITI.
In other regions, the civil society also works to support the legislative process that aims at strengthening and advancing the agendas of resource and revenue transparency (Mouan, 2010). Additionally, beside the aspect of dialogue, the civil society also shares the view that it is their responsibility to identify the key issues that are within the interest of the public and that relate to the mandate of the EITI process that are directed towards extractive revenue transparency, the process of governance and ensure that the identified issues are addressed and brought within the public domain for debate and dialogue.
Within the context of governance and development, the civil society is considered as a third sector that is distinct from the business and government that are functioning as an intermediary institution in ensuring that the issues that deal with the interests of the public within the public domain are coordinated through advocacy.
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References
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Frynas, J. (2010). Corporate Social Responsibility and Societal Governance: Lessons from Transparency in the Oil and Gas Sector. Journal of Business Ethics, 93163-179. doi:10.1007/s10551-010-0559-1
Holden, W. N., & Jacobson, R. D. (2007). Mining amid armed conflict: nonferrous metals mining in the Philippines. Canadian Geographer, 51(4), 475-500. doi:10.1111/j.1541-0064.2007.00193.x
Magner, A. L. (2015). Drilling for Disclosure: Resource Extraction Issuer Disclosure and American Petroleum Institute v. SEC. Journal of Corporation Law, 40(2), 521-537.
Mejía Acosta, A. (2013). The Impact and Effectiveness of Accountability and Transparency Initiatives: The Governance of Natural Resources. Development Policy Review, 31s89-s105. doi:10.1111/dpr.12021
Mejía Acosta, A. (2014). The Impact and Effectiveness of Accountability and Transparency Initiatives: The Governance of Natural Resources. Development Policy Review, 31s89-s105. doi:10.1111/dpr.12021
Mouan, L. C. (2010). Exploring the potential benefits of Asian participation in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative: The case of China. Business Strategy & the Environment (John Wiley & Sons, Inc), 19(6), 367-376. doi:10.1002/bse.687
Pal, N., & Pantaleo, D. C. (2008). From Strategy to Execution: Turning Accelerated Global Change into Opportunity. Berlin: Springer.
Sovacool, B. K., & Andrews, N. (2015). Does transparency matter? Evaluating the governance impacts of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Azerbaijan and Liberia. Resources Policy, 45183-192. doi:10.1016/j.resourpol.2015.04.003
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