Appeal of the “EITI in Central Asia: First experience and possibilities for progress” seminar participants
Date: 29 Jun 2005
With great satisfaction we welcome endorsement of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) by the Republic of Kazakhstan (June 2005) and the first Kyrgyzstan EITI Report published by Kyrgyz Government.
Having discussed current situation and civil society tasks for increasing extractive industry transparency we urge the Governments of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Kazakhstan to undertake the following urgent measures:
- To remove restrictions on citizens’ access to information as citizens have a right (i) to search, to receive and to spread an information about revenues from extractive industry and (ii) to conduct public control on government expenditures. Such restrictions are still in force in our countries’ legislations and widely used in law-enforcement practice without sufficient reasons.
- To establish efficient and applicable mechanisms of civil society participation in discussion and decision-making in the context of EITI: developing/changing the reporting templates, scope and nature of disclosure, appointing an administrator and auditor, etc.
We call upon companies operating in our countries to switch from voluntary basis of disclosure to proactive and irrefragable informing of all interested parties about companies contribution in the budgets of our countries. It would be practical endorsement of principles of transparency and conscientious natural resources management.
We call upon International Financial Institutions (IFIs), which endorsed the EITI to promote more actively this Initiative and to switch from voluntary basis of making companies payments to governments public to mandatory once as soon as possible. It will help in fighting corruption and fit IFIs’ directives on information disclosure, public consultations and anticorruption policy.
The civil societies of our countries will be very disappointed if the EITI became as a next widely advertised action just to distract public attention and improve extractive industry’s image.
We are going to increase transparency both within the EITI framework and through national legislation, public campaigns and interaction with authorized government entities.
The natural resources are property of current and future generations in our countries and unfair and secret bargains to sell our natural resources have no excuses any more.
Kalia Moldogazieva (Human Development Centre “Tree of Life”, Kyrgyzstan)
Anara Dautalieva (Initiative Group, Kyrgyzstan)
Tynchtyk Asranov (Alliance for Reproductive Health, Talas Branch, Kyrgyzstan)
Juzur Ozubekov (Democracy Support Informational Centre-Talas, Kyrgyzstan)
Rysbai Sarybaev (Altyn Bulak Charity Fund, Kyrgyzstan)
Zamira Satybaldieva (Kyrgyz Republic Ombudsman Office, Kyrgyzstan)
Valeri Kireev (Chintamani Public Fund, Kyrgyzstan)
Mariya Gorokhova (Public Policy Research Centre, Kazakhstan)
Anna Nedobitko (Centre for Local Self-Government, Kazakhstan)
Natalia Ablova (Bureau on Human Rights and Rut of Law, Kyrgyzstan)
Tatiana Mamatova (Bureau on Human Rights and Rut of Law, Kyrgyzstan)
Alexander Gluschenko (Adilet Centre, Kazakhstan)
Yuriy Krivodanov (Blago Association, Kazakhstan)
Aigul Orunbaeva (Ecoshkola Public Fund, Kyrgyzstan)
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