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Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo might be one of the world’s richest countries in natural resources, but its population ranks among the poorest with four out of five citizens living on less than 30 cents a day.
London: Publish What You Pay (PWYP)* welcomes the news that Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has signed a new transparency law which increases accountability over the management of the country’s natural resources.
Approved on 10 July 2009, the LEITI Act seeks to ensure that the benefits due to the government and people of Liberia from the exploitation of natural resources are “verifiably paid or provided; duly accounted for; and prudently utilized for the benefits of all Liberians….”
For the first time in the history of modern Azerbaijan, the State Oil Company has signed two oil development deals “in the dark,” without public notice of its negotiations with the foreign companies involved, and without the traditional public contract signing ceremony.
The Azerbaijan NGO Coalition is alarmed by this backwards step in the country’s excellent tradition of oil contract transparency. This incident may demonstrate the beginning of a dangerous trend in the preparation and signing of extractive industry contracts.
London: Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Gabon Coordinator Marc Ona Essangui has won the prestigious international Goldman Environmental Prize, which is often awarded to individuals who take significant personal risks to protect the environment and local communities.
This map shows which governments have published extractive contracts and provides links to them. Countries with a dark blue marker have published all their extractive contracts online. Countries with a light blue marker have only published some contracts, or have legislated to publish contracts but have not yet done so.
This map is still in its early phases, please email apowell@publishwhatyoupay.org if you think that there are any mistakes or omissions.
You can also view this communiqué in its original PDF format
Communiqué Issued at the Closing of the High Level Policy Dialogue on Oil Governance in Uganda
1. The High Level Policy Dialogue on Oil Governance in Uganda took place in Jinja, Uganda on November 30 –December 1, 2011.
PWYP calls for greater public scrutiny of the deals that are signed between governments and extractive industry companies. The contracting process itself should be fully open, from tendering to award. The content of the contract, lease or concession agreement should be accessible to the citizenry. PWYP pushes for the adoption of open competitive bidding rounds as a best practice and a preferable option to the closed-door negotiated deal types that some countries use.
Uganda’s oil may still be underground, but tensions are already bubbling to the surface as government, MP’s and civil society clash over allegations of million-dollar oil bribes, lawsuits and accountability demands.
Many Ugandans were positively surprised when Uganda’s parliament passed a resolution in early October demanding an end to all oil deals until proper transparency and accountability laws are put in place. There were also calls for an independent investigation into the alleged million-dollar bribes ministers had accepted from western oil companies.
“I could not believe it.
You can also view this press release in its original PDF format
1. Fellow country men and women, as 9th Parliament of Uganda convenes today, the debate on accountability in the oil and gas sub-sector is still at the centre stage of our national discourse.
You can also view this press statement in its original PDF format
We members of the Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE), Global Rights Alert (GRA) and other members
Under the umbrella coalitions of:
The Oil Watch Network (OWN) and Publish What You Pay (PWYP) that are promoting good governance, transparency and accountability in Uganda’s oil sector hereby bring to the attention of parlia