EITI Temporarily Suspend Guatemala For Slow Progress

Guatemala made inadequate progress following its first Validation against the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Standard and is temporarily suspended, the organisation has said.

According to its monthly extractives inSight, sent to e360, the EITI noted that in recent years, Guatemala’s mining sector has undergone mine closures, social conflicts, permit suspensions and a de facto moratorium on new licenses since 2017.

While the EITI Board recognises the challenges the country faces, it however,  said weak stakeholder engagement and reporting gaps have hampered progress towards achieving greater sector transparency.

“Guatemala’s EITI has yet to contribute to public debate on issues of high public interest, such as subnational revenue distribution,” the EITI noted.

To comeback, the body says EITI stakeholders in Guatemala will have to address 18 corrective actions to re-energise EITI implementation.

The country also has an opportunity to tailor implementation to its specific circumstances, in line with national reform priorities. Collaboration between different actors in the mining sector will be a starting point to overcome ongoing challenges, the EITI said.