Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Timothy Kabba Launching the SLEITI 2019 Report and its braille version.
The Office of Vice President and the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) of the Sierra Leone Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (SLEITI) on the Tuesday June 7, 2022, held a national dissemination and sensitization of the 2019 SLEITI Report with the Theme: Monitoring Sustainable Development Through a Transparent and Accessible Extractive Sector”.
The event which was held at the Bank Complex, Kingtom in Freetown, attracted policymakers, Members of Parliaments; representatives of persons with disabilities; Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs); students; representatives of civil society organisations and media; representatives of mining companies, among others.
The event saw the launching of the 2019 SLEITI Report and its braille version by the Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Timothy Kabba to ensure a wider dissemination of the report.
To date, Sierra Leone has produced 10 SLEITI reports including the 2019 report.
Countries Reports cover Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) principles. EITI is a global standard to promote open and accountable management of natural resources. It seeks to strengthen government and company systems, inform public debates, and enhance trust.
Speaking on behalf of the Vice President Hon. Dr Juldeh Jalloh, the Minister of Mines, Timothy Kabba said in his keynote address that he was reliably informed that it was not always smooth sailing getting the data needed to complete the reporting template, particularly from government institutions. “Let me use this opportunity to urge Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Government Agencies to support our reporting processes by providing the data needed for the validation,” The mines minister said. “I must also acknowledge the cooperation received from oil and mining companies as well as recipient of revenues from the extractive industries, supporting the validation processes by providing the data needed by the experts compiling and formulating this report.”
He thanked the Minister of State in the Office of the Vice President Mrs Francess Alghali for the admirable demonstration of leadership skill in leading the validation processes.
He said that, as a responsible government and with the support of their development partners, they continue to create and make effective the legal and regulatory regimes within which our mineral resources could be sustainably utilized for economic growth. “One of key objectives of these regimes is to ensure transparency of the sector and to allow for our citizens to demand accountability from us for the management of our mineral resources. Transparency and accountability in the extractives industries are not only about promoting good governance of the sector. It is in addition, about doing business and creating the conditions for competitive investments which can attract the right investors to come and invest in our country and help us grow our economy for the benefit of our people. This becomes a win-win situation,” Kabba said.
He said that 2019 SLEITI Report is a key milestone in their long march to remaining compliant with EITI Standards.
Minister Kabba said, “We are proud to engage with the EITI process that requires reporting on revenue streams from the extractives sector. But beyond the reporting of revenues, good governance of the extractive sector is at the heart of the matter for President Bio’s administration. Since taking over the reins of government, President Bio has demonstrated strong interests in ensuring that Sierra Leone optimizes benefits from its natural resource endowments.”
Minister Kabba said they took steps to deal with the remedial actions identified in the 2018 report. “The 2019 SLEITI Report therefore seeks to respond to the remedial action.,” he said. He thanked development partners for supporting the EITI processes.
The National Coordinator of SLEITI, Mohamed Baimba Koroma, said the 2019 Report was produced late as a result of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions imposed by government which made it difficult to move around to collect data for reporting.
He said that they have submitted the Sierra Leone’s 2019 Report to the EITI Board which evaluates countries’ progress in meeting the EITI Standard. He said that Sierra Leone did well compared to other countries. “I am proud of what we have done, and I am hopeful we will have a higher score,” Brima said.
In 2018, Sierra Leone was found to have made ‘meaningful progress’ in implementing the EITI standard.
The Chairman for Mines and Minerals Committee in Parliament, Hon. Saa Emerson Lamina said that in the last four years lawmakers have contributed immensely to several reforms in the mining and mineral sector. He said transparency issue has been their cry in the mining sector. He said that communities that were mined for decades has nothing to show as development. He lauded efforts of Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) of SLEITI for putting together the 2019 Report.
The National Project Coordinator, Extractive Industries Technical Assistance Project (EITAP2) Implementation Unit, Mustapha Gibril applauded the Minister of State in the Vice President’s Office, the Multi-Stakeholder Group and team at the SLEITI Secretariat for working very hard to get Sierra Leone to be compliant with the EITI requirements. He congratulated the Vice President Jalloh for being the EITI Champion in the country.
He said that EITAP Implementing Unit felt proud to have supported the SLEITI process and dissemination of the report activities. “With funds provided by the World Bank, we have supported governance and management reforms of the extractives sector and our support to SLEITI in the preparation and dissemination of the 2019 validation report that will be lunched today assists in achieving one of the core project objectives: strengthening governance , knowledge and sustainability of the extractives sector,” he said.
He said that it has been a priority and commitment on the part of World Bank to ensure that Sierra Leone as a member of the EITI, is compliant with the EITI standards on transparency and accountability in the payments made in the oil, gas and mining sectors; eliminate all forms of corruption in these sectors; and promote contract disclosure, among other things.
The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Rt. Hon. Dr Sidie Mohamed Tunis said that mineral resources drive economic growth and poverty reduction. “Yet they are potentially associated with a number of ills including corruption, exploitation; armed conflict, gender-based violence, population displacement, cultural harm and human rights violations,” he said.
He noted that to mitigate some of risk factors associated with mineral resources, it is very important that they put transparency and accountability at the top of the agenda as they seek to promote sustainable development from the extractive industry.
“It is very important that companies and Governments agencies allow access to information on extractive revenues, expenditures, and environmental impact. Information to the public must be timely, accessible, reliable, and relevant to the understanding of all,” the Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament said.
“Today’s Launch of the 2019 SLEITI Report is an added achievement that bears testimony to the consistent, rapid, and substantial progress in EITI implementation. It also consolidates much needed transparency in the exploitation of our natural resources especially in the oil, gas and mineral sectors, which were, in recent years a prime subject of dubious and outright criminal conduct.”
Hon. Tunis said, “We believe that a prudently managed and transparent extractive sector can and will make significant positive contribution to our development efforts and benefits all Sierra Leoneans.”
Representative from the Chamber of Mines, Madam Aminata Kamara said that the Chamber fully support EITI standard, noting that during the reporting period members of the Chamber provided all the relevant information required by SLEITI, adding that they collaborated with MDAS, Civil Society Organisations and the media to ensure the completion of EITI process.
She said that they will continue to provide the relevant information during the report cycles.
A representation from the Centre for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Mohamed Samuel Fullah applauded the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) of the Sierra Leone Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (SLEITI) for publishing the braille version of the 2019 Validation Report which gives the blind and visually impaired the opportunity to know about the EITI standard. The brille version of the report was produced with support from the African Centre for Energy Police.
By Alusine Sesay