The EITI Board, at its recent meeting in Dakar, Senegal, decided that Papua New Guinea (PNG) has made meaningful progress in implementing the EITI Standard.
The Board recognised PNG’s efforts in implementing reforms to address weaknesses in government systems and in improving the level of transparency on state participation in the country’s extractive industries, but said further institutional reforms are necessary, according to a statement by the EITI Secretariat.
“The EITI is having a real impact in Papua New Guinea; citizens can now see how the revenues from oil and gas projects are being distributed and how the government is managing mining revenues through trust accounts”, said Fredrik Reinfeldt, chair of the EITI.
“The process has improved the petroleum register and shone a light on the state’s participation in the sector. I welcome the news that stakeholders will increasingly use EITI to inform investment decisions and to assess the sectors contribution to the economy.”
The Board also acknowledged PNG’s satisfactory progress on all requirements related to governance and oversight of the EITI process, attributing the progress in PNG’s implementation to strong government commitment and meaningful engagement by stakeholders.
While the quality of data needs to be improved and significant gaps remain in the disclosure of information around subnational payments and distribution of revenues, the Validation process showed how EITI contributes to public debate and policy reforms in PNG.
According to the statement on its website, the EITI says the use of its data has sparked discussions on how revenues are collected from the PNG LNG project and how local communities may benefit from a Benefit Sharing Agreement entered in connection with this project.