Bayelsa State Leads Fight for Responsible Government in Niger Delta with New Transparency Effort
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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YENAGOA, NIGERIA—Leaders in the oil-rich state of Bayelsa will open state and local government budgets to unprecedented scrutiny with today's launch of the Bayelsa Expenditure and Income Transparency Initiative (BEITI).
Established with planning and technical advice from the Revenue Watch Institute, the BEITI will bring together executives from government ministries, officials from the state's House of Assembly, civil society groups and leaders from the oil and gas industry to audit state income from all sources. The Initiative will also monitor public expenditures at the state government level.
Leaders must have reliable information in order to write good policies, and the public needs honest disclosures before it will give leaders its trust. Transparency helps make government more accountable by reducing the chances for corruption and waste. It also helps to ensure that public spending is responsive to local needs. Investors, banks and international institutions embrace greater transparency as a means to ensure a more stable and appealing investment climate.
Like many resource-rich countries, Nigeria is passing a greater portion of its oil wealth directly to producing regions such as Bayelsa State. But without careful management and oversight, increased revenues can undermine local economic stability, reduce accountability and increase conflict.
"I would like to congratulate Governor Timipre Sylva for the launch of the Bayelsa Expenditure and Income Transparency Initiative," said George Soros, founder of the Open Society Institute, a key Revenue Watch funder. "It represents a major opportunity to open the policy dialogue and involve civil society and communities in the management of oil and gas revenues."
Revenue Watch Institute director Karin Lissakers said "Transparency is vital to improving public services and reducing conflict in oil-rich regions like Bayelsa State. To bolster the credibility and future of this effort, the BEITI working group should move quickly to introduce fiscal responsibility legislation and exercise independent scrutiny over revenue transfers and public expenditures."
The Revenue Watch Institute is an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit organization devoted to fostering transparent and accountable management of extractive sector resources. Revenue Watch will be advising the Bayelsa Expenditure and Transparency Initiative as it establishes its multi-stakeholder steering committee, and will provide tools for tracking expenditures and evaluating impact, along with capacity building support to enhance community and civil society participation in the State's planning and budgeting.
CONTACTS:
Nigeria
Dauda Garuba, BEITI,
+234 (0) 803 426 1150, garubadaz@yahoo.com
Antoine Heuty, RWI,
+1 917 257 0403, aheuty@revenuewatch.org
USA
Jed Miller, RWI,
+1 212 548 0697, jmiller@revenuewatch.org
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