The Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) is a global standard of transparency
that requires the extractive industries such as oil, gas, and mining to publish what they pay
to the government, and the government to publish what they collect from these industries.
The EITI adheres to the principle that there must be sound management of natural resources. It operates on the premise that the development and utilization of natural resources can
be used to spur economic development to improve the quality of life of its citizens and more
importantly, lift people out of poverty. It is also based on the assumption that while the State
owns these resources on behalf of its citizens, the citizens have the right to know how these
resources are managed.
EITI implementation has two core components:
1. Transparency: Payments disclosed by companies and receipts disclosed by governments
are reconciled by an independent administrator and published in an annual EITI report.
2. Accountability: A multi-stakeholder group composed of representatives from government, companies and civil society oversees the EITI implementation and sees to it that the
reports produced are comprehensive. The report is shared with the country’s citizens to
stimulate an informed debate about how natural resources are governed.
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