The Chairman of the EITI international Board, Dr. Peter Eigen is scheduled to visit Liberia and other EITI countries in the West African region in October of this year. Dr. Eigen’s visit to Liberia follows the earlier visit of a joint EITI/World Bank/African Development Mission to Liberia in May of this year. While in Liberia, Dr. Eigen will meet with Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and a number of
LEITI stakeholders relative to the progress and sustained implementation of EITI in Liberia.

The Chairman of the EITI international Board, Dr. Peter Eigen and Mr. Eddie Rich visited Liberia from October 4-7, 2009. The visit followed the earlier visit of a joint EITI/World Bank/African Development Mission to Liberia in May of this year. Dr. Eigen and Mr. Rich held meetings with the President of Liberia, Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Multi-stakeholders Steering Group (MSG) of the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI), Civil Societies in Liberia, the Private Sector and a dinner meeting with Liberia’s donor partners arranged by the World Bank.

H.E. Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf expressed satisfaction over Liberia’s performance to date and acknowledged the dedication and commitment of the LEITI team in the implementation of its functions and mandate. Madam Sirleaf thanked the LEITI for going beyond the core EITI (mining and oil) sectors to include forestry and agriculture and making sure that all concession agreements and major contracts were obtained by the LEITI and published.

Following the President’s remarks, the Chairman of EITI International, Dr. Peter Eigen praised Liberia for the steps it has taken in complying with the new standards of resource management under the EITI. He thanked the Government of Liberia for the level of political will being given to the EITI process in Liberia. Dr. Eigen also commended the civil society and the private sector as well as the Multi-stakeholders steering Group of the LEITI for the commitment being exhibited by them. He expressed happiness for the true nature of the multi-stakeholder process in Liberia and the way the EITI process is being implemented.

Chairman Eigen however stressed the importance of Liberia to have in place a good, transparent, and honest governance structure to ensure that resources of the country benefit all the people.

The most senior EITI delegation found the opportunity to attend a LEITI public awareness and outreach meeting in Bong Mines, Bong County. During the meeting, Dr. Eigen and Mr. Rich were gowned and named chief and paramount chief respectively by the National Traditional Council of Liberia (NTCL). The NTCL is a member of civil society comprising all the chiefs and traditional leaders of Liberia.

Addressing the participants, Dr. Eigen further explained the EITI process to the participants and said that he was extremely happy for the outreach meetings with the communities. The EITI Chairman told the locals that the LEITI outreach meetings will enhance transparency and accountability and provide a platform to know how the revenues accrued from the sectors under the EITI process are managed.
 
The meeting brought together over eight hundred participants from Fuamah District and its surrounding towns and villages. The meeting was also attended by the Bong County Legislative Caucus , the Superintendent of Bong County, and other County Officials, and the National Traditional Council of Liberia represented by Chiefs and traditional leaders from ten of the fifteen counties of Liberia.

The Chief Champion of LEITI and the President of Liberia, H.E. Madam President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has described the Liberia Extractive industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) as one of the institutional pillars of integrity responsible to anchor and sustain the reform agenda of Liberia. The President says that by promoting better management and use of public resources and discouraging corruption, LEITI along with General Auditing Commission and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission is critical to poverty reduction and social development in Liberia. 

Members of the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) Multi-stakeholders Steering Group have praised the President of Liberia, H. E. Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, and the Honorable Liberian Legislature for the historic passage of the Act Establishing the Liberian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI).

The signing of this Act by the President reaffirms continuing Government’s commitment to transparency and accountability in the extractive sector, a commitment that is much to be credited for the success of the LEITI. In specific praise of the Act, LEITI Chairman, Finance Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, said the passage of the Act into law represents a “landmark achievement in our collective bid to plant firm foundations of transparency in the management of state resources.”  

Meanwhile, the international Secretariat of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), based in Oslo, Norway, and Global Witness, a leading international NGO involved in exposing corrupt exploitation of natural resources, have both commended the Liberian Government for the passage of the Act. According to Global Witness, “a new transparency law, signed by the President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, covering oil extraction, mining and other natural resource industries, sets an impressive benchmark for global efforts to fight the natural resource curse and should be emulated by other countries.”  Global Witness continued: “The law is (a) testimony to the reformist spirit of the government and to Liberian civil society groups who have worked so hard to turn the country's natural resources from a curse to a blessing.”  

The LEITI Act, which was signed by the House of Representatives on May 28, 2009 and by the House of Senate on June 11, 2009, was signed into law on July 10, 2009. The Act established LEITI as an independent entity of the Government of Liberia with objectives that include assisting to ensure that all taxes due from the extraction of Liberia’s minerals and other resources are (1) verifiably paid or provided; (2) duly accounted for; and (3) prudently utilized for the benefits of all Liberians on the basis of equity and sustainability. 

LEITI is part of a global initiative known as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) that aims at promoting transparency over mineral revenues through regular disclosure, verification and publication of all payments and revenues connected with the operations of the mining and oil sector. About thirty resource-rich countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas are members of the EITI. Of the many EITI countries, Liberia is the first country in the World to include forestry in its EITI scope, and the new Legislation has also included the rubber subsector as well. This means that LEITI will publish, on a regular annual basis, all payments and revenues connected with the operations of mining, oil, logging, and Rubber companies in Liberia. The first of such publication was made early this year and may be found at www.leiti.org.lr.

The signing of the LEITI Act into law makes Liberia the second EITI country next to Nigeria to have a dedicated EITI legislation.

A joint mission from the EITI international Secretariat in Oslo, Norway and the Head Offices of the World Bank and the African Development Bank recently visited with the LEITI at which time the met and held meetings with LEITI stakeholders and senior officials of the Liberian Government on how to deepen and sustain the work of the LEITI.

Members of the visiting EITI/World bank/African Development Bank Mission included Eddie Rich, Deputy Secretary of the EITI International Secretariat, Mr. Dorain Vasse, of the Oil, gas, and Mining Policy and Operations Unit of the World Bank; Mr. Andre Ufer also of the World Bank, and Tove Strauss who is the Principal Financial Governance Expert, OSGE Department, African Development Bank.

During the Mission’s visit, they held separate meetings with the Vice President of Liberia, Dr. Joseph Boakai; the leadership of the Liberian Senate; and other Government officials as well as representatives of Companies and civil society. The Mission also attended the 23rd meeting of the LEITI Steering Group held on Thursday, April 23, 2009.

A high-level joint mission from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) international Secretariat in Oslo, Norway and the Head Offices of the World Bank and the African Development Bank arrives in Liberia to visit with the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) and hold discussions with LEITI stakeholders and senior officials of the Liberian Government on how to deepen and sustain the work of the LEITI.

The visiting EITI/World bank/African Development Bank Mission include Eddie Rich, Deputy Secretary of the EITI International Secretariat, Mr. Dorain Vasse, of the Oil, gas, and Mining Policy and Operations Unit of the World Bank, and Tove Straus who is the Principal Financial Governance Expert, OSGE Department, African Development Bank.

The visit of the high-level joint mission from the headquarters of the EITI and international donors funding the LEITI follows Liberia’s recent wining of the EITI Implementing Country Award in Doha, Qatar, and the commencement of the on-going validation of the LEITI; the recent publication of Liberia First EITI Report.

According to an LEITI Release, the joint EITI Mission will first pay a courtesy visit on the Vice President of Liberia, Dr. Joseph Boakai, and thereafter hold separate meetings with the leadership of the Liberian Senate and other officials of Government as well as representatives of Companies and civil society. The Mission will also attend the 23rd meeting of the LEITI Steering Group scheduled for Thursday, April 23, 2009.

Meanwhile, the LEITI has announced that its on-going validation by the UK-based firm, Oxford Policy Management Group is on course and proceeding smoothly. The Validation Team led by Dr. Magnus Macfarlane and including David Abjola Wilf Herderson and Dr. Wallor Topor have met with the LEITI Chairperson and the Co-Chairperson as well as many other LEITI Stakeholders. The Validation Team will present their initial observations and findings to the LEITI Multi-stakeholders Steering Group on this Thursday, April 23, 2009 during the regular meeting of the Steering Group.

The validation process is a quality assurance mechanism that the EITI Board uses to determine a country’s compliant status. Presently, there are 26 countries including Liberia that are implementing EITI and are considered EITI candidate Country. An EITI candidate country will become EITI Complaint country if it undertakes validation, and the validation process establishes that the country is indeed implementing EITI in accordance with the agreed international criteria that include, among other things, a genuine commitment by Government to work with civil society in promoting transparency in the extractive sector of the country.

Over sixty LEITI Stakeholders representing logging, mining and oil companies as well as the Government of Liberia, Civil society and Liberia Development partners have committed themselves to expeditiously resolving all discrepancies contained in the recently published first EITI Report of Liberia, and  working to ensure that forest and mineral revenues of Liberia are properly accounted for and equitably used for the benefits of all Liberians.

The commitment was made at the end of a two-day capacity building Retreat held for members of the LEITI Multi-stakeholders Group and other LEITI Stakeholders, including officers and representatives of extractive companies, civil society, the UNDP, UNMIL, DFID, World Bank, and other international organizations.

During the Retreat, the LEITI Stakeholders discussed major unresolved discrepancies of payments and revenues data contained in the LEITI first Report.  Some of the unresolved discrepancies involved the amount of US$160,000.00 that Amlib (which recently signed a Mineral Development Agreement with the Government) reported paid to the Ministry of Finance, but which the Ministry of Finance said it never received. Also discussed were several other major differences in figures of payments and receipts, including what ArcelorMittal reported as paid to the Government and what the Government reported as received from ArcelorMital. 

Given the significance of the discrepancies, and as a necessary measure to further the credibility of the LEITI process, the Government of Liberia along with other LEITI stakeholders at the Retreat agreed that all discrepancies contained in the LEITI First Report be expeditiously resolved within one month as of the Retreat. 

Meanwhile, the LEITI Governing Board has approved a summary of the first LEITI Report, and authorized the LEITI Secretariat to implement wide dissemination of the summary LEITI Report in conjunction with other appropriate public outreach activities. The LEITI stakeholders said that it was important that Liberians get adequately informed of the aims and immense benefits of the LEITI initiative. 

Meanwhile, the over sixty LEITI Stakeholders attending the ThinkersVillage Retreat called on the Liberia Legislature to use their good offices to pass the Draft LEITI Act before them, saying that the benefits of transparency and good governance offered by the LEITI are very clear and indisputable.
The Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) is part of a global Initiative called Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) , which is implemented in 26 countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe. The objective of the EITI and the LEITI is the same: to promote transparency over mineral revenues by requiring the regular disclosure, verification and publication of (1) all material payments made to a country’s government by extractive companies; and (2) the revenues the Government received from the extractive Companies. The schedule of both payments and revenues data are regularly published in an EITI Report. Liberia First EITI Report was published in February this year, and may be found at www.leiti.org or collected from the offices of the LEITI on the 4th Floor of the Ministry of Finance.

The Draft Act to establish the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) as a statutory body in Liberia got its first reading in the Honorable House of Representative of Liberia on Tuesday, February 24, 2009. The reading of the Act followed its earlier submission t the Honorable legislature by the President of Liberia, Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf-Johnson.
In her letter submitting the Act to the Honorable legislature, President Sirleaf names one of the objectives of the LEITI  as “to assist in ensuring that all benefits due the Government and people of Liberia on account of the exploitation and/or extraction of the Country’s mineral  and other resources are (1) verifiably paid or provided; (2) duly accounted for; and (3) prudently utilized for the benefits of all Liberians and on the basis of equity and sustainability.”

Meanwhile, the Draft Act has been turned over to the appropriate Committee of the House for its review and advice to the full House.

The Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) has won the EITI Implementing Country Award announced for the first time by the EITI in Doha, Qatar during the 4th EITI Conference. The Chairman of the EITI international Board, Peter Eigen presented the Award to Liberia. In his presentation remarks, Chairman Eigen lauded the pace-setting achievements of Liberia in EITI implementation, citing the inclusion of forestry in its program, and the remarkable engagement of all LEITI stakeholders, including the exemplary political will of the Liberian Government.

The EITI Award to Liberia was received on behalf of the Country by her Excellency, Madam Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson, President of Liberia who had earlier addressed the Conference. President Johnson thanked the EITI Board for its recognition of the LEITI, adding that the Award represented a challenge for Liberia to deepen its EITI implementation and makes the LEITI truly beneficial for the Liberian people.

As one of about 26 EITI implementing countries, Liberia’s winning of the EITI Implementing Country Award is a strong testament of the rapid progress the LEITI has made in a relatively short period since Liberia became an EITI candidate country in September 2007.

Meanwhile, two other countries received awards during the Doha Conference. Azerbaijan received an award for becoming the first EITI Compliant country while Kazakhstan received a special prize for its efforts in raising awareness about the Country’s EITI program across their huge country.

President Elllen Johnson-Sirleaf has formally launch the first report of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in Liberia. The President launched the report at the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday afternoon and praised officials of the LEITI Multi-stakeholders Steering Group, especially the LEITI Secretariat headed by Cllr. T. Negbalee Warner for their steadfastness and commitment in helping to make Liberia a transparent nation. 

The President launched the report at the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday afternoon and praised officials of the LEITI Multi-stakeholders Steering Group, especially the LEITI Secretariat headed by Cllr. T. Negbalee Warner for their steadfastness and commitment in helping to make Liberia a transparent nation. Several senior government officials and member of the LEITI Steering Group among others attended.