Final Statement - PWYP Abidjan Workshop

We, representatives of Publish What You Pay (PWYP) francophone African coalitions meeting in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) from 29 January to 2 February 2010 at the PWYP Africa Francophone Workshop on the theme of “Strengthening the PWYP campaign and advocacy for greater transparency and accountability in the management of natural resources in Francophone Africa”:

• reviewed the importance of transparency and good governance at various stages of the extractive industries value chain ranging from the decision to extract, to revenue allocation in the national budget and follow-up on how these revenues are used for the good of the people;
• shared experiences and best practices with a view to greater synergy and strengthening of our advocacy at the regional and sub-regional level;
• agree that transparency and governance are essential levers for accountability and effective management of extractive revenues geared towards poverty reduction and sustainable development;
• recognize the inseparable link between economic governance and democratic governance and the importance of an open debate and frank dialogue over the management of natural resources between the government, extractive companies and civil society; and
• emphasize the need for civil society activists to play their role as watchdogs without fear of threats or harassment.

The PWYP campaign and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) are important processes for establishing a culture of transparency, accountability and good governance in general in the extractive industries. In the light of our analysis and discussions, we recommend that:

1. Governments of francophone African countries should:

• commit to the effective implementation of the EITI and broader ownership of the process at the national level, and respect the deadline for validation of the initiative;
• adapt the EITI process to the needs of each country, and in particular encourage the disclosure of information and the extension of the initiative to cover other relevant natural resources;
• set up institutional and legal mechanisms capable of expanding transparency to the entire value chain, especially transparency of contracts and budgetary expenditure;
• establish national laws on transparency of extractive revenues and access to information;
• harmonize tax codes at the regional level and grant tax exemptions only for the exploration phase;
• develop policies with local content, taking into consideration criteria for efficiency, transparency and good governance.

2. Northern governments should:

• support the EITI validation process in francophone African countries;
• promote follow-up mechanisms to ensure that the recommendations of the EITI Validator are effectively implemented;
• invite the EITI International Secretariat to promote the creation and implementation of laws relative to the EITI at the national level, and put pressure on governments to implement the EITI within the agreed deadline;
• support the creation of national laws such as the US Energy Security through Transparency Act of 2009;
• push for the adoption of accounting standards that require transparency of company payments;
• support capacity-building of francophone African civil society for increased advocacy at the national and international level.
• France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada and Luxembourg should support transparency efforts in francophone Africa through increased partnership with civil society, and the International Organization of La Francophonie should do the same.

3. Extractive companies should:

• provide the necessary information related to payments made to governments, to enable country-by-country reporting;
• abandon confidentiality clauses and support the disclosure of contracts to ensure their transparency; and
• respect environmental and community standards in place at the international, regional and national level.

4. The International Financial Institutions should:

• continue supporting EITI implementation in francophone Africa and the effective participation of civil society in the process;
• promote access to information on extractive projects financed by the International Finance Corporation and the African Development Bank, particularly contract disclosure;
• promote and support dialogue with civil society, and make funds available for the strengthening of its capacity to advocate for improved governance; and
• ensure that the World Bank’s new ‘Governance in the Extractive Industries’ programme involves and supports PWYP’s francophone coalitions.

5. Civil society, members of African coalitions and PWYP partners should:

• strengthen work on budget monitoring;
• increase advocacy for access to information;
• campaign for the adoption of a sub-regional mining code in West Africa;
• set up a monitoring committee for the protection of activists;
• share experiences and increase synergy to strengthen common advocacy in francophone Africa; and
• ensure that the PWYP mandate and the spirit of the campaign are respected, by promoting working procedures and governance methods that conform to the principles of PWYP.

Abidjan, 2 February 2010.

Cette page est également disponible en français