Monrovia – Liberia faces “significant risks” of being delisted as a member of the International Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (IEITI) if “significant corrective measures” are not implemented in a timely manner, two officials of international transparency body have warned.
Report by Alpha Daffae Senkpeni, [email protected]
FrontPageAfrica reported on Wednesday, September 4 that an IEITI team, headed by its Africa Directo M. Bady Balde, was in the country.
The team says it is here to “review progress on the implementation of corrective actions agreed by the EITI International Board and discuss with key stakeholders including government officials, companies and civil society representatives on urgent actions that need to be taken for Liberia to avoid being delisted from the EITI”.
They have now warned that Liberia might be delisted because the country is failing to meet up with the IETI standards.
On Wednesday during a press conference, Mr. Balde told reporters that Liberia must make amends including publishing the delayed reports before the end of December this year if the country must avert being delisted.
“If urgent measures are not implemented in a timely manner, there are significant risks that Liberia will no longer be a member of the EITI. We want to do everything we can to avoid this scenario while preserving the integrity of the EITI process,” he said.
He warned that “if the country is delisted it would deprive the government and all stakeholders an important instrument of transparency, accountability and reforms of the oil, gas, mining, forestry and agricultural sectors.”
This might limit the country chances of borrowing from international financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and at the same time, limit its chances of attracting international companies into the extractive sector.
Moreover, Liberia would struggle to improve domestic resources mobilization, attract foreign direct investments (FDI), support from international partners, improve revenue management and ensure payments made of the counties social development funds.
Meanwhile, the team said the IEITI is concerned about the capacity of the Liberia secretariat which has been headed by Mr. Nyenkan for almost a year.
Mr. Nyenkan’s appointment generated concerns from many stakeholders and foreign partners and was considered a breach of the standards governing the EITI.
Since he took over, Liberia was suspended in 2018 for not publishing its report in time and the suspension was upheld this year after the country again failed to publish its report in time.
Murjanatu Ibrahim Gamawa, Country Manager of EITI International, added that Liberia was funded by international partners but they have “lost confidence” in government’s handling of the secretariat, which has made significant donors to withdraw their support.
Liberia was regarded as pioneer of EITI Africa for its implementation of regulations, making the country a pace setter for transparency in the continent’s extractive sector.
During those years, Liberia produced nine reports, which gave the country a seat on the boards of a number of international IETI secretariats.
Meanwhile, Mr. Balde has warned that significant actions need to be taken and that all stakeholders need to come together as a matter of urgency to produce the outstanding reports in order to help Liberia regain its “credibility and give the world confidence” in the country.
He said if Liberia is delisted “it will send a very negative signal to investors, partners and many others about Liberia commitments when it comes to fighting corruption.”
The EITI Africa Director stressed that the possibility of averting the delisting is a “daunting task”.
“It’s going to be a challenge … it will require so many people rolling in the same direction and doing things differently,” he said.
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