March 2018 News and Analysis from NRGI

News from NRGI
29 March 2018

Highlights

What Makes an Accountable State-Owned Enterprise? Yesterday NRGI joined discussions about state-owned enterprise (SOE) governance at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum. Prior to the conference, NRGI experts shared some thoughts about SOE accountability in a piece posted by the Brookings Institution.

International Women's Day

Lauren DeCicca for NRGI

On the occasion of this year's International Women's Day, NRGI drew inspiration from women’s movements and explored ways the organization can work toward equal participation in extractives management. Anja Tolonen shared some misconceptions around gender and extractives, and new NRGI board member Carole Nakhle discussed “anemic” female participation in the extractives sector and the role NRGI can play in addressing gender inequality and in support of women’s empowerment.

Extractives Data Ecosystems
Data play an important role in the field of resource governance, and organizations around the globe are producing and using data on key resource governance issues. In order to help users navigate the vast supply of data and the diverse global availability of data use cases, NRGI has created two searchable online repositories, or "ecosystems."

Resource Governance in the Hit Film Black Panther

The policy community has been just as stimulated by the blockbuster hit Black Panther as audiences in general. NRGI's Thomas Lassourd took a political economy approach and asked "Who Benefits from Wakanda’s Mineral Resources?" Then Nicola Woodroffe looked "Beyond Wakanda’s Way: 'Africanizing' Mining Sector Benefits." Her analysis was cited in The Economist [free, registration required] and she also provided commentary during a deep dive on the film on Chicago's WBEZ Worldview radio program.

Events

Executive Course on Oil, Gas and Mining Governance

Developed through a collaboration between the University of Oxford and NRGI, this intensive five-day course provides the training and insight required for senior policy-makers to manage and govern their nations' oil, gas or mineral resources. The 2018 course will run 10-14 September. The application period opens on 3 April and closes on 1 June.

Blended Learning Course in Revenue Management
This Eurasia-focused, Russian-language course at Khazar University in Baku, Azerbaijan, offers alternative theories and practices to traditional post-Soviet resource governance. Apply by 10 April. Also, read a blog post about last year's course.

Spotlight on Data

Guinea Mining Ministry Takes Resource Contracts Portal to the Next Level

In early March, Guinea’s Ministry of Mines and Geology released an updated, expanded mining contracts portal. This is the latest milestone in a multi-year journey toward better and more complete online disclosure of agreements critical to the country’s development. (Read about this news in French.)

A Withhold up in Mongolia? Thoughts on the Renewed Tax Debate Around Oyu Tolgoi
In a report, Rio Tinto was accused of “illegitimately lowering” its withholding taxes paid to the government of Mongolia in relation to the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine. This piece reviews Rio’s tax arrangements in the country.

Blog

‘Empowerment Without Good Governance is Precarious’: a Conversation with Leapfrog International’s Tim Grice
On the sidelines of the Advancing Accountable Resource Governance in Asia Pacific course, Grice spoke about a formative experience in Papua New Guinea, his more recent work and quantifying the unquantifiable.

Natural Resources Can Fuel Conflicts, But Also Bring Peace: A Conversation with AFRIM’s Starjoan Villanueva
Villanueva is the director of the Philippines civil society organization Alternative Forum for Research in Mindanao. Here she discusses AFRIM's focus on natural resource management, sustainable rural development and peacebuilding.

New Recommendations Spell Out Steps to Better Extractives Management in Ukraine
Ukrainian civil society organization Dixi Group endorses enhancing transparency and disclosures; sharpening licensing and related matters of regulation; improving understanding of and focus on local impacts; and incorporating local community interests.