Open letter from PWYP UK to Prime Minister David Cameron on OPG country action plan

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Dear Prime Minister,

Re: Opportunities to promote extractive industry transparency through the Open Government Partnership

Thank you for stating your support for EU regulations to require oil, gas and mining companies to publish key financial country- and project- specific information at your speech on aid, trade and democracy in Lagos last month.

As you know, Publish What You Pay (PWYP) is a global network of over 600 civil society organisations campaigning for improved transparency in the oil, gas and mining industries. The UK PWYP coalition welcomes the UK Government’s focus on transparency and your leadership role on the steering committee of the Open Government Partnership.

We understand that, in the run-up to the formal launch of the Partnership in September, the Government will be consulting with civil society on the development of the UK Government’s Open Government Declaration and country Action Plan. You will have seen that the Transparency and Accountability Initiative’s supporting guide to best practice in transparency, accountability and civic engagement across the public sector, ‘Opening Government’, has recommendations regarding extractive industry transparency for resource-producing and capital-providing countries. In the spirit of developing the United Kingdom’s country action plan through public consultation, members of Publish What You Pay in the United Kingdom would like to make a number of recommendations which we set out below.

As both a resource-producing and capital-providing country, we strongly urge you to ensure that improving transparency in the extractive industries features as a key part of the UK Government’s Declaration and Action Plan. The Declaration and Action Plan will provide an excellent platform to promote your commitment to EU transparency regulations and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). They will also provide an opportunity to take further important steps in improving transparency in this field. For example, we urge the Government to consider:

- Publishing extractive industry contracts. The contracts between governments and oil, gas and mining companies are central to any effort to trace revenues and expenditures in the extractive industries. Extractive industry contracts determine the benefits, obligations and indeed the transparency of the agreements between countries and industry. By publishing contracts, the UK would be seen as a leader in the transparent management of natural resources.

- Joining the EITI as a candidate country. By moving from supporting the EITI to also implementing it, the UK can contribute towards the EITI becoming the globally recognised transparency standard for the extractive industry.

- Championing full country-by-country financial reporting requirements for extractive companies at the EU level. This would allow EU rules to build on the US rules introduced by Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act by requiring companies to report production volumes, profits, sales data and other key financial information as well as payments to governments. This will help citizens and governments to analyse whether they are receiving a fair deal for their natural resources.

We would welcome the opportunity to meet your team working on these issues and to participate in the public consultation process.

Thank you once again for your support in improving transparency in the oil, gas and mining industries.

Yours sincerely,

Belinda Calaguas, Director of Policy and Campaigns, ActionAid
Neil Thorns, Director of Advocacy, CAFOD
Simon Moss, Co-Founder & Campaigns Director, Global Poverty Project
Gavin Hayman, Campaigns Director, Global Witness
Adrian Lovett, Europe Director, ONE
Jane Allen, UK Campaign Coordinator, Publish What You Pay
Vanessa Herringshaw, Director – London Office, Revenue Watch Institute
Patrick Grady, Advocacy Manager, Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund
Paul Cook, Advocacy Director, Tearfund

CC: Tim Kelsey, Director, Transparency Strategy, Cabinet Office