February 2018 News and Analysis from NRGI

News from NRGI
28 February 2018

Swiss commodity trading, U.S. oil company hypocrisy, DRC mining code.

Highlights

Switzerland Should Oblige its Traders to Disclose Payments
In Switzerland's NZZ am Sonntag newspaper, NRGI president and CEO Daniel Kaufmann argues for the legislation of commodity trading transparency in the country, which is the world's largest trading hub. The opinion piece was also published in French in Le Temps. (Read the piece in English here.)

Total Becomes First Major Oil Company to Support Contract Transparency
French oil giant Total is the latest company to make a policy statement in support of contract transparency in the extractive industries.

U.S. Oil Majors Must End Transparency Hypocrisy
Kaufmann and NRGI senior advocacy officer Joe Williams write that if ExxonMobil and Chevron truly support transparency and wish to retain the reputational benefits of leadership in initiatives like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initative, they should support full implementation of Dodd-Frank 1504 in the U.S. (in line with laws in Europe and Canada) and disclose their tax payments in the U.S. and all other countries where they operate.

The Democratic Republic of Congo Deserves a Better Mining Law
In this piece in the Financial Times, NRGI staff argue that five years after the mining code review started, the end result risks falling short of its promises to the Congolese people.

Podcast

The Downside of Globalization: Corruption and the International Order
At this Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI) event, Kaufmann highlighted that democratic values are under threat, transparency initiatives are under attack and civic space is shrinking in many industrialized and developing countries. Kaufmann also took part in a UI podcast.

Events

Fragility Forum 2018: Extractive Industries and Violent Conflict panel
NRGI governance programs director Erica Westenberg participates in a discussion organized by the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform on 5 March at this World Bank Group conference.

OECD Global Anticorruption & Integrity Forum
Join NRGI experts in Paris on 27 March to learn about anticorruption efforts in state-owned extractive companies.

What Will it Take to Move Beyond GDP?

What is the best way to assess a nation’s prosperity over time? The Brookings Institution and the World Bank co-hosted a panel of experts to debate the question at an event focused on The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018: Building a Sustainable Future. The presentation referenced the publication's fifth chapter, "The Carbon Wealth of Nations: From Rents to Risk," co-authored by NRGI senior economic analyst David Manley. Watch the webcast.

Not A Drop to Drink: Environment, Transparency Key Themes at Mining Indaba
At this year's Mining Indaba, NRGI co-hosted a side event on extractives transparency and good governance that brought together attendees for a discussion on harnessing the power of data to advance sustainable development.

Free, Online Course: Natural Resources for Sustainable Development
This self-paced course gives learners an understanding of the key challenges and opportunities that come with managing extractive industry investments for sustainable development. New learners can register and start at any time. The course is delivered in English with French, Spanish and Russian transcripts available. Register here. (A separate Arabic-only edition of the course is also offered.)

Spotlight on Data

Ghana’s New Petroleum Register Features Full-Text Contracts

Ghana’s new online petroleum contract registry, https://www.ghanapetroleumregister.com/

The government of Ghana followed through on a promise it made in July 2017 by launching a public petroleum register that contains the full texts of petroleum agreements, licenses, permits and authorizations.

Video

How Can Taxes Help Achieve the Global Goals?

NRGI's Thomas Lassourd talked about natural resource taxation during this U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs Q&A at the First Global Conference of the Platform for Collaboration on Tax: Taxation and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Publications

Infobooklet : Beneficial Ownership in Ghana

This visual booklet, produced in collaboration with the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, explains in straightforward language the governance and corruption risks presented by hidden company ownership. It goes on to explain how Ghana is addressing the challenge.

Blog

I Read Hundreds of Pages of Africa EITI Reports. Here’s What I Found.
NRGI advisor Patrick Heller shares seven takeaways on the value of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative reports and how countries can further refine their approaches to enhance public understanding about the roles and performance of oil sector state-owned entities.

Philippines: Will TRAIN Run Over the Mining Sector?

Under the Philippines' new tax system, mining companies that extract metallic or non-metallic minerals are now subject to a 4 percent excise tax on the value of their production—double the previous rate. What does this 100 percent increase mean for the sector?

Four Ways Supreme Audit Institutions and EITI Can Bolster Each Other
Not enough is known about how supreme audit institutions and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative can bolster each other’s important and complementary work.

Ensuring a Fair Deal for Nigerians with Oil-Backed Loans
To ensure transparency and promote informed public debate on the proposed oil-backed loan and its terms, the Nigerian government needs to make these disclosures.

NRGI Named Among Top Transparency and Governance Think Tanks
For the third year running, the Go To Think Tank Index has named NRGI among the top 10 transparency and good governance policy institutions globally.