Liberia Signs Milestone Transparency Measures into Law
Revenue Watch Heralds Legislation as a New Standard for Nations Seeking Benefit from Natural Resources
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW YORK—The Revenue Watch Institute applauds the Liberian government for its recent passage of the Liberian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Act, the most thorough legislation of its kind in any resource-rich nation.
"This act is a crucial step for Liberia in the transparent and accountable governance of its natural resources," said Karin Lissakers, director of Revenue Watch. "The new legislation can serve as a model for other countries as they seek to institutionalize practices that turn resource wealth into lasting national gains."
The Liberian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) Act, which was signed on July 10 by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, aims to ensure that all payments due to Liberia for its extractive resources are verified, rigorously accounted for and "prudently utilized for the benefits of all Liberians."
The LEITI Act builds on ongoing efforts by Liberia to promote greater transparency and accountability, by requiring companies to publish disaggregated data on payments, as well as promoting disclosure and review of contracts. As part of its continuing commitment to responsible revenue management, the Liberian government also recently collaborated with Revenue Watch to document the successful renegotiation of its international steel and rubber contracts.
Local Publish What You Pay leader and Revenue Watch grantee Alfred L. Brownell welcomed the light the new laws will shed on company financial information. Brownell said confidentiality clauses "have plagued extractive industry contracts in Liberia and ensured for the last 162 years that natural resources decision-making was left to the caprices of an elitist club."
Liberia and oil-rich Nigeria are now the only two countries with laws dedicated to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international mechanism to create transparency in the management of oil, gas and mineral wealth. Nearly 30 resource-rich countries have declared their participation in the EITI process.
Lissakers said, "Liberia has set an admirable example by enshrining these disclosure policies in the law. Not only has the government shown its commitment to revenue management practices that will help make citizens full participants in the country's resource wealth, it has also pointed the way for countries seeking to build their commitment to EITI into foundational principles of governance."
CONTACTS:
Jed Miller, +1 917 257-0670, jmiller@revenuewatch.org (US)
LEARN MORE
- Liberian Legislature Passes the Liberian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative Act (Publish What You Pay)
- Global Witness Welcomes New Liberian Transparency Law, Urges Other Countries to Follow Suit (Global Witness)
- Getting a Better Deal from the Extractive Sector: Concessions Negotiation in Liberia, 2006-2008
- Open Society Justice Initiative: The Trial of Charles Taylor (Open Society Justice Initiative)
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