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Senegal: EITI tackles the challenges of transparency in the extractive industries

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Sénégal : l'ITIE face aux enjeux de la transparence dans les industries extractives

To understand the importance of the EITI in the country's institutional and governance architecture, we need to look back at the situation that prevailed before the country joined the initiative in 2013: lack of reliable data on production, exports, revenues from the extractive sector and their contribution to the state budget; compartmentalisation of administrations that prevented coordinated monitoring by the various administrations; weaknesses in the information systems of the administrations in charge of the extractive sector, and lack of information for civil society, the National Assembly and the supervisory bodies; a highly speculative environment based on conjecture and suspicion that undermined the business environment, etc. In this context, Senegal's adherence to the EITI Standard has enabled the country to assess its legislation and practices against the yardstick of international best practice, providing an opportunity to benchmark against more than fifty (50) countries. After ten (10) years of EITI implementation, and despite mainstreaming efforts, the EITI remains the leading source of quality information on the extractive sector (company payments, production and export data, financial statements, statistics on employment and transactions with suppliers, contribution to GDP, etc.), thereby strengthening public debate. As a result, a number of achievements are discernible:

Involvement of stakeholders at the highest level (public authorities, civil society and private sector) ;

Reducing information asymmetry in the extractive sector ;

Public access to reliable and comprehensive information on the entire value chain of the extractive sector through published annual reports;

Substantial improvement of information systems in the mining, oil and gas sectors, and at the level of financial authorities;

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Mobilisation of extractive revenues and their effective inclusion in the State budget;

Two successful validations with satisfactory progress in 2018 and a very high score in 2021;

Initiation of several legal reforms in the extractive sector (beneficial ownership, mining taxation, equalisation and support funds for local authorities, local content, etc.);

Establishment of a register of beneficial owners of extractive companies ;

Reconnaissance internationale matérialisée par la tenue à Dakar de la première conférence mondiale de l’ITIE en Afrique à l’occasion du 20th anniversary of the international EITI in 2023. However, given its cross-cutting position and the central role of data in the planning and monitoring of public policies, Senegal could gain much more from this fine institution, the EITI, whose inestimable value is matched only by its contribution to the governance of the mining, oil and gas sectors, and even to the steering of the country's economic policy. To realise its full potential, the EITI must not confine itself to producing reports designed to meet the requirements of the Standard. Similarly, it should not continue to be the subject of debate on the extractive sector in the face of an increasingly demanding public and a committed press. It can play an advisory role for the State in the contract review process; strengthen the analysis of global EITI requirements (declaration of beneficial owners, disclosure of costs and reserves, analysis of budgetary scenarios, etc.In addition to broadening the scope of reporting companies and entities, the EITI can also provide a framework for dialogue with government departments, enabling investors to voice their concerns.
This would only be possible if the new authorities were to consider the following measures:

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Transform the EITI structure into an independent administrative authority with an obligation to submit detailed and timely reports on the evolution of the dynamics of the oil, gas and mining sectors;

Institutionalise the EITI as an advisory body and a key partner for ministries (mining, finance, environment) in assessing public extractive policies;

Promoting partnerships with the National Assembly, the research community and centres of excellence to innovate and test pilot projects involving communities;

Use the resources offered by the EITI mechanism to serve the new strategic vision of the extractive sector, geared towards maximising socio-economic benefits at both national and regional levels;

Extend the scope and impact of the data collected by incorporating predictive analysis mechanisms to anticipate trends in the sector (e.g. revenue flows or infrastructure needs). This could be done through partnerships with research institutions, such as ANSD;

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Using the EITI to capture added value and promote sustainable development.

By Elhadj Amath Diallo, Secteur privé, ancien membre du Comité national ITIE, 
Abdou Aziz Diop, Société civile, ancien membre du Comité national ITIE, 
Dr Moustapha Fall, Enseignant-chercheur, ancien Responsable Aff. Juridiques ITIE, 
Cheikh Tidiane Touré, Consultant, ancien Secrétaire permanent de l’ITIE.

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