Africa-Press – Namibia. CIVIL society is urging the government to speed up the process of joining the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (Eiti) as the country’s energy transition gains traction.
The executive director of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), Graham Hopwood, says the government should join Eiti as soon as possible and start implementing its main stipulations.
Eiti standards require member countries to disclose information along the extractive industry value chain – from how extraction rights are awarded to how revenue makes its way through the government and benefits the public.
“The government should include in its review of existing minerals and petroleum legislation a full consideration of the principles of Eiti, and a commitment to open contracting,” Hopwood says.
According to the second Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPPII), Namibia will subscribe to Eiti and/or review applicable laws governing the extractive industries, including fisheries and forestry, to improve transparency and deepen public trust.
Meanwhile, a number of African countries have seen the benefits of contract transparency.
As of 2021, 26 of Eiti’s 55 implementing countries were in Africa.
Of these, 11 have published some or all oil and gas contracts, and 13 have published some or all mining contracts.
“Should Namibia join the Eiti, in line with the initiative’s requirements, the country would be required to disclose contracts and licences.
“But even outside of Eiti, given the global push for enhanced transparency, open contracting or contract transparency will remain an important aspect of the extractives industry agenda,” Hopwood says.
Hopwood says minister of mines and energy Tom Alweendo in 2021 noted a clear intention for Namibia to joining Eiti before the end of 2025, when the implementation of the HPPII has been completed.
Alweendo, however, said the process of joining Eiti may take up to two years to complete.
Hopwood says the government should further consider adopting open contracting as a means to curb corruption in awarding public contracts.
He says open contracting is about publishing and using open, accessible and timely information on public contracting to engage citizens and businesses on fixing problems and delivering results.
“Because of the opacity and scope for discretion in public contracts public contracting often ends up being governments’ number-one corruption risk,” Hopwood says.
He says open contracting enables accountability and scrutiny of public agency; promotes public understanding and safeguards democratic processes, attracts new bidders through transparency; and leads to greater competition in future bids.
Criticism of open contracting is centred around the insufficient regard for commercially sensitive information and trade secrets.
Open contracting could also discourage companies from bidding and lead to clustering of bids while undermining incentives for innovation and research towards public goals due to a loss of costly information for contractors, Hopwood says.
He says continued improvement in the management of the country’s natural resources are vital for enhancing transparency, improving accountability, and fighting corruption.
“Positively, through these policies, the government has demonstrated a theoretical commitment to improved transparency. Indeed these policies – and particularly the Access to Information Act – provide a solid foundation on which to make the transition to open contracting in this industry,” Hopwood says.
He calls for the implementation of the act without delay.
The executive director of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), Graham Hopwood, says the government should join Eiti as soon as possible and start implementing its main stipulations.
Eiti standards require member countries to disclose information along the extractive industry value chain – from how extraction rights are awarded to how revenue makes its way through the government and benefits the public.
“The government should include in its review of existing minerals and petroleum legislation a full consideration of the principles of Eiti, and a commitment to open contracting,” Hopwood says.
According to the second Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPPII), Namibia will subscribe to Eiti and/or review applicable laws governing the extractive industries, including fisheries and forestry, to improve transparency and deepen public trust.
Meanwhile, a number of African countries have seen the benefits of contract transparency.
As of 2021, 26 of Eiti’s 55 implementing countries were in Africa.
Of these, 11 have published some or all oil and gas contracts, and 13 have published some or all mining contracts.
“Should Namibia join the Eiti, in line with the initiative’s requirements, the country would be required to disclose contracts and licences.
“But even outside of Eiti, given the global push for enhanced transparency, open contracting or contract transparency will remain an important aspect of the extractives industry agenda,” Hopwood says.
Hopwood says minister of mines and energy Tom Alweendo in 2021 noted a clear intention for Namibia to joining Eiti before the end of 2025, when the implementation of the HPPII has been completed.
Alweendo, however, said the process of joining Eiti may take up to two years to complete.
Hopwood says the government should further consider adopting open contracting as a means to curb corruption in awarding public contracts.
He says open contracting is about publishing and using open, accessible and timely information on public contracting to engage citizens and businesses on fixing problems and delivering results.
“Because of the opacity and scope for discretion in public contracts public contracting often ends up being governments’ number-one corruption risk,” Hopwood says.
He says open contracting enables accountability and scrutiny of public agency; promotes public understanding and safeguards democratic processes, attracts new bidders through transparency; and leads to greater competition in future bids.
Criticism of open contracting is centred around the insufficient regard for commercially sensitive information and trade secrets.
Open contracting could also discourage companies from bidding and lead to clustering of bids while undermining incentives for innovation and research towards public goals due to a loss of costly information for contractors, Hopwood says.
He says continued improvement in the management of the country’s natural resources are vital for enhancing transparency, improving accountability, and fighting corruption.
“Positively, through these policies, the government has demonstrated a theoretical commitment to improved transparency. Indeed these policies – and particularly the Access to Information Act – provide a solid foundation on which to make the transition to open contracting in this industry,” Hopwood says.
He calls for the implementation of the act without delay.
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