CIVIL SOCIETY AND EITI IMPLEMENTATION IN GHANA

1. CIVIL SOCIETY AND EITI IMPLEMENTATION IN GHANA

Dialogue, Critical and Constructive Engagement

2. The Road So Far Traversed

CSOs in Ghana have been partners in the EITI tri-partite arrangement since the inception of the initiative in Ghana Partnered the other stakeholders in a massive sensitization drive, following launch of the initiative Made input into the design, finalization, and adoption of templates Made input into the drawing of the Ghana work programme Contributed to the drafting of the Aggregator�s ToR Took part in the selection and interview of EITI aggregator Been part of all other implementation activities, including discussions around audit reports

3. The CSO Framework for Engaging in GHEITI

Civil society participation had been marginal from the onset. ISODEC was the only organisation that was engaged in the process, serving on the National Steering Committee (Nominated by GAPVOD). In Nov. 2004 ISODEC convenes a roundtable meeting of organised civil society stakeholders, aimed at broadening civil society participation in the EITI process. The meeting provided a platform for the adoption of a framework for civil society engagement. Today, ISODEC represents a 20-member coalition of civil society organisations, including faith-based organisations and organised labour working under the banner of PWYP-Ghana.

4. The CSO Framework for Engaging in GHEITI (Contd.)

The Publish What You Pay-Ghana Campaign is part of a wider global campaign for transparency in extractive sector revenues, with the broad objectives of: Mobilising civil society to engage with other stakeholders in the implementation and monitoring of the EITI process. Promoting budget/revenue transparency at the community level, through grass root participation in budget/revenue tracking. Eliminating corruption and revenue leakages in the extractive sector. Ensuring that the extractive sector contributes positively to national development and poverty reduction, especially in communities immediately affected by extractive sector activities.

5. The Genesis of PWYP-Ghana

The formal launch of PWYP-Ghana was in 2006, after two years of existence. The launch was preceded by mobilization and sensitization durbars in the four major mining enclaves in Ghana, namely, Western, Eastern, Ashanti, and Ahafo. The community mobilization efforts were followed with a strategic planning meeting which brought together 50 signed up members of the coalition to formulate an engagement strategy and action plan for 2006-7. Having adopted the plan of action, the Campaign was officially launched in Accra. The challenge at the time was to organize the citizenry of the four major mining enclaves, incorporate them into the PWYP campaign, and deepen their understanding of the essence of the EITI initiative, and their role in realizing the laudable goals of the initiative.

6. Capacity Building Initiatives

Following the launch of the coalition, we embarked on a capacity-building drive. Our first training workshop took place in Akim Oda in November 2006. It was attended by 40 community members drawn from the New Abirem concession area of Newmont, representatives of the PWYP-Ghana Steering Committee, representative of the traditional authority of the Akim Kotoku area, representative of the District Assembly, the Coordinator of the national Multi stakeholder Committee on EITI in Ghana, reps of GTZ, and Newmont. Topics treated at the workshop included the Dichotomy of Mining and Development, the Legal and Regulatory Framework of the Mining Sector i.e. contracts, environmental impact assessment, social responsibility agreements etc. It also explored the mining sector revenue streams and their disbursements. The principles and criteria of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative were also discussed.

7. Capacity Building Initiatives (Contd.)

The second took place from 11 � 13 January 2007 at Obuasi. At the time, the Multi stakeholder Committee on EITI was planning a national conference on EITI implementation in Ghana for January 15, 2007 and there was an urgent need to collate and firm-up civil society demands and expectations of the EITI process in Ghana. The Workshop was on the theme: Making Mineral Revenue Work for the Poor. It was attended by 60 participants drawn mainly from: in and around the Oboasi Community, the PWYP-Ghana Steering Committee, and four regional focal persons of the Campaign. It was also attended by the Amansie West District Finance Officer, the Community Relations Officer of AngloGold Ashanti, and a representative of the President of the Adansi Traditional Council. Other participants were: a 6-member delegation from Mongolia, who were then in the country to learn from Ghana�s civil society experience with the EITI. PWYP-Ghana also sponsored a 2-member delegation from Sierra Leone to the event as part of its networking and for the purpose of cross fertilization of ideas.

8. Capacity Building Initiatives (Contd.)

The workshop looked at the issues of Mining and Development, focusing on the legal and regulatory framework of the mining sector i.e. contracts, environmental impact assessment, social responsibility agreements etc. It also took an overview of the mining sector revenue streams and their disbursements. Participants were then taken through the Principles, Criteria, and Validation Process of EITI; the Role of Civil Society in the EITI Process; the Monitoring Framework for Effective Engagement (Budgets / Revenue Tracking). Participants had the opportunity to discuss the EITI reporting templates, particularly the sub-national template and how to engage with it. The workshop again, provided the opportunity to discuss and formulate a civil society response to Ghana�s EITI Inception Report, which was then in its draft stage; as well as collate and firm-up a set of civil society demands on the Ghana process.

9. National Multi-stakeholder Conference

GHEITI held its first National Conference on EITI on January 15, 2007. PWYP-Ghana sponsored 8 community members drawn from the four mining enclaves to the conference. It was an opportunity to re-state the PWYP-Ghana demands on EITI which were: to bring on board all other legitimate concerns not captured in the current framework, including other dimensions of transparency, such as contracts, policy formulation, regulatory regime, social and environmental costs and compensation, and also seek to bring on board other extractive sector activities. The demands also included the call to pursue EITI within the context of a broader range of complementary reform initiatives including: Reviewing the existing mining law to make it consistent with the transparency requirements of EITI. Formulating in the shortest possible time, a mining policy for the mineral sector. . Passing the Right to information bill. Providing civil liberty guarantees, especially for civil society activists. Legislating the initiative to make disclosures mandatory.

10. Other Zonal Workshops

The Oboasi community-based workshop was replicated in the Western regional mining enclave - Tarkwa (February 22 � 24, 2007), and the Ahafo mining enclave - Sunyani (March 15 � 18, 2007). All the workshops were given good coverage in the local as well as national electronic and print media.

11. Communities� Concerns

In general, discussions at the workshops centred on the relationship between mining companies and the communities in which they operate. In particular, issues of crop compensation, lack of transparency in the disbursement of mineral royalties from the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands, environmental cost and compensation, livelihood insecurity, and human right abuses perpetrated by mining companies, working in tandem with state security agencies were the most nagging concerns.

12. Meeting With the World Bank

On January 18, 2007 GTZ hosted a meeting between World Bank Officials, including the Bank�s EITI consultant Sefton Darby, and PWYP-Ghana. The meeting was at the instance of the Bank and had the purpose of obtaining a feedback from the civil society mobilization events and workshops as well as sharing the civil society perspective on the EITI process so far. Discussions also focused on constraints civil society was facing with the EITI process and the management of the mining sector in general. PWYP-Ghana seized the opportunity to re-affirm its demands on the process, as well as other concerns of the communities which fall outside the remit of EITI.

13. Engagements Around EITI Reports

Following the conclusion of the first Ghana EITI report in February 2007, PWYP-Ghana commissioned an expert in the U.K. to undertake a technical review of the report, which is subsequently referred to as the Murphy Critique. Following the submission of the Murphy Critique, a civil society technical roundtable was organized to discuss the Ghana EITI report, with the Murphy Critique serving as a reference document. The roundtable drew participation from the membership of the PWYP-Ghana coalition, private legal practitioners, geologists from academia, representatives of gender and faith-based organizations. The meeting provided the platform for formulating a civil society response to the first Ghana report, which was submitted at a national stakeholder workshop on the report organized on April 3, 2007.

14. IMPACT OF OUR ACTIVITIES

The cumulative outcome of our intervention has been an increased awareness and a galvanized community support for EITI implementation in Ghana. PWYP-Ghana has developed a draft Social and Environmental Template for capturing social and environmental impacts of mining, as well as others for capturing revenue flows to the districts. Community groups have been trained in the use of these tools which are soon to be deployed.

15. Our Perspectives on the Usefulness of EITI

EITI remains an incomplete balance sheet, but presents opportunities for addressing some revenue management and utilization concerns Promoted stakeholder dialogue Help in adopting a consensus building approach to extractive sector policy initiatives For instance we have achieve consensus on extending EITI to other natural resource sectors, and also to revise the Aggregator�s Terms of Reference to make the exercise more meaningful than it has so far been.

16. Challenges

How to bring on other sectors such as forestry, oil, and fisheries The need to expand the MSG while ensuring that it does not become unwieldy The need to address the potential for role conflict among secretariat staff, and to secure the independence of the MSG How to ensure the sustainability of the initiative THANK YOU for your attention