Tanzania and Uganda, who are subscribers to the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) will be obliged to publicly publish new and amended contracts signed with mining firms from January 1, 2021. According to transparency disclosure requirements, member countries are required to publish new and amended contracts, licenses and agreements concluded with extractive companies.
The Oslo-based secretariat in communication said that Tanzania and Uganda are among the countries whose contracts remain unpublished, increasing the opacity of extractives sector and making it more vulnerable to corruption.
Explaining the functioning of EIT, its chair Helen Clark said that it creates a powerful disincentive for officials to conclude agreements that are partial or result in personal gain. The agreements are subjected to public scrutiny which ensures fairer agreements, drafted in line with the country’s legal framework. Better transparency cuts down risks of revenue leakages, misallocation or diversion of revenues, inconsistent terms of trade, conflict of interest, bribery, corruption and state capture. EITI’s global standard of oil, gas and mineral resources ensures good industry governance. Both Tanzania and Uganda are at the cusp of commercial export of crude and natural gas. About 57.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in south-eastern Tanzania and 6.5 billion barrels of crude oil in western Uganda have been discovered. commercial export is yet to start.
