PWYP Africa Statement to the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Africa Source: PWYP Africa Date: 7 Oct 2009
We, members of Publish What You Pay (PWYP)* Africa, thank the Catholic Church for its commitment to promote the equitable management of natural resource wealth in Africa. We commend the Church for continuing to place the issue of the resource curse and its repercussions at the centre of its discussions and deliberations on Africa. We thank Pope Benedict XVI for supporting efforts made towards good governance and transparent management of natural resources on the continent. We further thank the Pope for endorsing PWYP and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)** during his visit to Angola in March 2009 as “effective initiatives which merit support” and which “promote transparency, honest business practice and good governance”. We are grateful to African Bishops for calling for increased transparency and good governance in the extractive industries, and we encourage the dissemination of this message in all resource-rich African countries. Africa is a continent blessed with abundant resources. However, this wealth does not translate into development outcomes for the majority of its citizens who remain trapped in abject poverty and continue to suffer from the ill effects of the ‘resource curse’. Governments and other institutions that manage these resources are often weak and, in practice, unaccountable to the parliaments and citizens of their countries. The extractive industry is associated with high levels of corruption. Opaque practices and mismanagement of resource wealth for the benefit of individual interests exacerbate social divisions and can lead to weak and unstable states and conflict. Civil society, particularly through PWYP, a global coalition that calls for increased transparency and accountability in the extractive industries, is mobilised by the same principles of dignity, human and people’s rights and sustainable human development that the Church is committed to. PWYP needs the Church’s assistance to ensure that African governments are held accountable for their management of natural resources, particularly extractive resources, and that they collaborate with local communities to ensure that resource wealth serves as a basis for poverty reduction and economic and social development. In particular, PWYP Africa will be pleased if: •
The Church increases its advocacy for accountable and transparent management of natural resources for development, stability and poverty reduction
We know how powerful the voice of the Church in Africa is, and we will appreciate the Church taking a stronger stand on the need for resource wealth to benefit the people of resource rich countries and to be more equitably distributed so it can contribute to poverty alleviation and economic and social justice. We will appreciate a call from the Church to ensure that newly resource-rich African countries and those that diversify the use of their natural capital should do so in accordance with the rules and principles of good governance and transparency to which they have committed at the regional and international level. This prudent and transparent management should take into account the needs of present and future generations by using extractive revenues in social sectors and in buoyant economic activities with due respect for the environment. •
The Church promotes voluntary and mandatory mechanisms in favour of transparency and accountability in the management of natural resources
There is now wide international consensus in favour of increased transparency in the extractive sector, as evidenced by, for example, the immense support from governments, companies, investors, financial institutions and civil society for the EITI, a global initiative that recommends greater transparency of revenues from the extractive sector. The continued support of the Church to the EITI is vital. We need the Church’s voice to call on EITI-candidate African countries to ensure its full and effective implementation at the national level and urge resource-rich African countries that have not yet joined the initiative to do so without delay. In order to sustain this initiative, it will be helpful to the Church to engage with national parliaments of candidate African countries and encourage them to enshrine the principles of the EITI in national legislation, including adopting laws in favour of transparency in the extractive industries, as Nigeria and Liberia have done. Beyond transparency of payments and revenues, PWYP will appreciate Church support to civil society in its call for the inclusion of transparency in bidding processes, licensing procedures and contracts, as well as free access to information in legislative efforts. In addition, the Church has a crucial role to play in ensuring that development partners and international financial institutions assist governments and civil society through well-defined policies and requirements that strengthen and complement efforts towards transparency and good governance. In the same vein, it will be helpful if the Church ensures that transparency and accountability in the management of resource wealth is a key component of its ongoing dialogue on economic and social justice with regional and subregional African institutions, including the African Union. •
The Church encourages the full involvement of civil society in debates and policies on the management of natural resources
Transparency is in the best interests of everyone concerned – citizens, companies, governments and the wider international community – and involves effective and independent participation of civil society in efforts to make it a reality. PWYP is concerned by the limited space given to civil society in many African countries in policy debates related to transparency and governance, including in the EITI process. We are also concerned by the increased intimidation, harassment and repression of civil society activists who are speaking out on public management and against corruption. We need the Church’s support to urge resource-rich African states to allow civil society to successfully carry out its mission as watchdogs and as the voice of communities, and encourage regional and international institutions to guarantee respect for their human rights and better protection against harassment, intimidation, false accusations and reprisals for their action. Allowing civil society to act freely and in a complementary manner is a central element of the crucial partnership with government. African Bishops are well placed to echo the legitimate concerns of African civil society and affected communities. They could help in encouraging discussion, dialogue, collaboration and common strategies for the accountable management and expenditure of revenues received from the extractive industries. It will be useful for African Bishops to work more closely together to improve their knowledge, practices, coordination and advocacy actions aimed at public authorities at local, national and international level, including ensuring meaningful engagement of national Justice and Peace Commissions in the PWYP campaign. Notes: *Publish What You Pay (PWYP) is a global civil society coalition with over 300 member groups across 70 countries who work together for greater transparency in the oil, gas and mining industries. In Africa, PWYP is active in the following countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. **The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is a global multi-stakeholder initiative for disclosure of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining. The participation of independent civil society is a fundamental component of the multi-stakeholder nature of the EITI. Contact: Marie-Ange Kalenga, PWYP Africa Regional Coordinator + 237 9639 3651 mkalenga@gmail.com Cette page est également disponible en français •
AFRICA
•
PWYP story