Angola to join oil and extractives transparency group
Angola’s minister of foreign affairs says the move demonstrates the country’s commitment to promoting the open and accountable management of its natural resources
Angola plans to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international effort to fight corruption in revenues from oil, gas and mineral extraction.
Tete Antonio, Angola’s minister of foreign affairs, announced the move on Twitter and said Angola “has clearly demonstrated its commitment to promote the open and accountable management of its natural resources for the benefit of its people”.
Anti-corruption drive
Angola’s President João Lourenço has embarked on an anti-corruption drive since taking power from José Eduardo dos Santos, who stepped down in 2017 after a near four-decade rule.
Earlier this month, a court in Luanda sentenced dos Santos’s son to five years in prison in connection with a US$500 million corruption case.
Africa’s second-largest oil exporter is also working to stem a steady decline in oil output because of a lack of investment.
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The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was formed in 2003 and has more than 50 implementing countries. It is the global standard to promote the open and accountable management of oil, gas and mineral resources.
The EITI has established a global benchmark to promote the open and accountable management of oil, gas and mineral resources.
The EITI Standard requires the disclosure of information along the extractive industry value chain, from the point of extraction, to how revenues make their way through the government, and how they benefit the public.
By doing so, the EITI seeks to strengthen public and corporate governance, promote understanding of natural resource management, and provide the data to inform reforms for greater transparency and accountability in the extractives sector.
In each of the 54 implementing countries, the EITI is supported by a coalition of government, companies and civil society.
Improved transparency
The average score of EITI implementing countries has increased faster over the past 12 years than that of non-EITI countries on the key dimension of fiscal transparency.
In 2008, EITI countries lagged, scoring 36 on average out of 100 on the OBS indicator for transparency.
By 2019, their average score had increased to almost 46, surpassing the average score of 44 for non-EITI countries.
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