24 August 2010 – Sir, Several recent articles have drawn attention to key developments in bringing to light corruption in African extractive industries. New US legislation may now lead to a quantum leap in replacing the opacity that clouds this sector with transparency. Tucked into the new US financial reform law that President Barack Obama recently signed are provisions that require US companies in the oil, gas and mining businesses to file independently audited statements on their payments to foreign governments to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

On 10 June 2010, representatives from the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) met at the Revenue Watch Institute’s New York office for a dialogue with members of the investment, civil society and corporate communities about rule changes that would add vital industry information to standard reporting requirements for petroleum and mining companies.

PWYP International published its latest newsletter, covering activities undertaken by PWYP members in different countries and globally from September 2009 to May 2010.

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“On June 3, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (the HKEx) will put into effect new disclosure rules for mineral companies, marking a significant step forward in the global campaign to establish greater transparency and accountability in the extractive industries.

PWYP member Global Witness has just issued a press release revealing that the investment bank Goldman Sachs is backing an oil deal in Angola by U.S. firm Cobalt International Energy, despite a risk that local partners in the deal could expose Cobalt to prosecution for corruption in the United States.

Goldman Sachs is a major shareholder in Cobalt and two of its executives sit on Cobalt’s board. Agreements with the Angolan state oil company, Sonangol, give Cobalt shares in two Angolan oil exploration blocks and assign it two local partners, Alper Oil Limitada and Nazaki Oil and Gáz S.A.

Date: 21/5/10
Location: Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC

On a Friday a lively panel discussion will take place highlighting gaps in existing oil sector transparency efforts, and explore why U.S.

In an effort to capture the incredible work that national coalitions carry out and to provide a better idea of the context in which national coalitions operate, we are very pleased to introduce a new series of Publish What You Pay Spotlights on National Coalitions.

These articles are written by the PWYP international office and are based on interviews with national coordinators and key members of national coalitions. They aim to provide greater coverage and an improved understanding of national coalitions and their work on campaigning for greater transparency and accountability in the extractive industries. We hope that these articles will contribute to greater sharing of experiences, peer learning across the global PWYP campaign and also be of interest to the general public.

Publish What You Pay is seeking a highly motivated professional for the position of Africa Coordinator. This position is based in Accra, Ghana (though other locations may be considered) and requires frequent travel.

Click here to apply

PWYP activists were invited to give testimony at the US Helsinki Commission on Thursday the 22d of April 2010.

Besides PWYP International, other member organisations put out press releases on Friday 16th 2010 to comment on the EITI Board Meeting in Berlin.