UGANDA PREPARES TO JOIN THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE (EITI)
EITI is the global standard for the promotion of transparency and good governance in the management of oil, gas and mineral resources. The EITI Standard requires countries and companies to disclose information along the extractive industry value chain, including production and revenue collection. The implementation of EITI is overseen by participants from Government, Private Sector and Civil Society in a Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) approach.
On January 28th 2019, Cabinet through Minute 27 (CT 2019), made the decision for Uganda to join the EITI and tasked the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) to spearhead the process to fulfill the specified steps that countries are required to take in order to join EITI. Upon fulfillment of the steps, Uganda will submit an application to the EITI Board for assessment and approval in order to start implementation.
Since the Cabinet decision was taken, the following progress has been made:
i. In February 2019, the Honorable Minister of Finance issued a statement of commitment to join EITI and subsequently appointed the Director Economic Affairs in the Ministry as the Senior Government Official and Chairperson of the MSG to lead the process. In March 2019, the MSG was set up and constituted to oversee the EITI process. The MSG is supported by a National Secretariat which was set up in November 2019.
ii. The MSG has held seven meetings in which it has developed its Terms of Reference and the National Medium Term Work Plan. The work plan intends to address the challenges facing the extractives industry in Uganda today, which include: limited transparency and other challenges related to revenue management, accountability and governance.
iii. Government has submitted its application to the EITI Board which, upon approval, will enable Uganda to start implementation in FY2020/21.
