Photo Credit: PNGEITI / Lucas Alkan
Among the 35 nations on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative list, the Papua New Guinea Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative has made significant progress.
The EITI website listed 55 countries incorporated into individual countries at various stages of implementing the EITI Standard; nine countries have made satisfactory progress, 35 (including PNG) have made meaningful progress, and three countries have made insufficient progress or have been suspended due to political instability or missing the reporting deadline.
According to Lucas Alkan, the head of the PNGEITI, gathering data for a report is not an easy task, but despite the difficulties, the PNGEITI has since issued its yearly report to the worldwide organization and has maintained its progress on the EITI list.
The Extractive Industries Openness Initiative was founded in 2002 to help nations improve transparency and accountability along the value chain of oil, gas, and mineral resources.
The EITI is a global organization that brings together sponsored nations, civil society groups, and businesses to create a transparency framework.
PNG applied for candidacy in 2013 and was accepted as an EITI implementing country in 2014. Since then, the country has published annual reports for the years 2013 to 2018.
The 2018 report aimed to improve the completeness of the data collected, while the 2019 report aims to meet all validation recommendations from its validators, including additional disclosures on sub-national payments, improved presentation, and meeting all validation recommendations.
PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum President Richard Kassman stated that producing a report every year is critical to the country's EITI candidacy.
He stated that if PNG fails to provide a report, it may be suspended for missing the reporting date and that he is happy with PNGEITI's annual reports.
Reference:
Kamus, Maxine. Post-Courier (3 August 2021). “PNG Extractive Industry Among 35 Progressing Countries: List”.
