November 2018 News and Analysis from NRGI

News from NRGI
30 November 2018

Highlights

Analysts Suggest Improvements to Guyana’s Proposed Sovereign Wealth Fund

The Guyanese government has taken a number of commendable steps in its plan to save a portion of the country’s forthcoming oil revenues in a new sovereign wealth fund, according to a new NRGI report. However, experts are urging officials to address underlying weaknesses in the fund’s design.

Report of the Expert Advisory Group on Anticorruption, Transparency and Integrity in Latin America and the Caribbean
In a new Inter-American Development Bank report, expert authors including NRGI president and CEO Daniel Kaufmann note that resource-rich countries face a heightened risk of corruption and elite capture. The report analyzes the key features of corruption in the region and proposes an ambitious agenda toward systemic transformation. (In advance of International Anticorruption Day on 9 December, learn more about corruption in the natural resource sector here.)

Is the Democratic Republic of Congo’s New Mining Fiscal Regime Up to the Task?

Average effective tax rate from a cobalt/copper project

A more balanced fiscal regime is needed for the Congolese mining sector to maximize benefits to the country, according to a French-language report. (Read more about the report in this French-language blog post.)

NRGI impacts

Reaching Wider Populations with Global Online Courses
Two online offerings have become key tools for building a broader and more foundational understanding of issues that are critical to natural resource governance.

Nurturing Civil Society Engagement in Tanzania
NRGI helped to create a robust civil society forum through which Tanzanian citizens have made substantive contributions to the country's extractives-related laws.

Improving Contract Transparency in Ghana’s Petroleum Sector
NRGI staff worked with civil society partners and the government of Ghana to bring full-text oil and gas agreements into public view.

Spotlight on data

All Hands On the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s New Data-Rich Dashboard

With NRGI support, GHEITI has recently relaunched its data dashboard to increase awareness of extractive revenues in Ghana.

Blog

IODC18 Focuses on Gender, Regional Networks, Critical Review of Open Data Economic Impact
The International Open Data Conference showed that members of the open data community are thinking creatively about how to build coalitions to support continued evidence-based reforms.

To Evolve, Oil Sector Needs Women, Youth
The issue of how to attract and retain young talent—and women especially—is becoming an increasingly serious concern for oil and gas companies, NRGI MENA director Laury Haytayan writes in The National.

BHP, Others Increase Scrutiny of Subcontracting Corruption Risks
Due to the large sums of money involved, subcontracting carries risks. Procurement deals are less visible and more numerous than the high-profile processes used to award exploration and production rights, and they are harder for government regulators, the media and civil society to scrutinize. They are therefore a common node for corruption.