By Bill W. Cooper
At long last, the Multi-Stakeholder Steering Group (MSG) of the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) has approved and release the 12th EITI report for Liberia following years delayed in releasing the report.
The long-awaited report which was release Tuesday, April 20, at the LEITI office in Monrovia, is said to be covering the period Jukly1, 3018 to June 30, 2020, under the Flexible Reporting Framework adopted by the EITI Board.
It can be recalled, the LEITI under the leadership of its former head now Communication Adviser to the President, Gabriel Nyenkan was bat the verged of being delisted by the EITI board due to institution delayed in releasing the country’s 12th EITI report.
Presenting the report to the MSG-LEITI chairman, the MSG-LEITI secretariat described the report as a significant gains made by the country, noting that the report is first of its kind under the Flexible Reporting Framework adopted by the EITI Board.
According to him, although the tax was somehow difficult; they from the angle of the MSG-LEITI were able to work together as a team to produced Liberia 12th EITI report, noting, “I made3 not be the one so much charged with the authority to give the but all I can say is that this 12th report is a proud to our country.”
He added, “Let me also registered that this is the first report for Liberia to include beneficiary ownership information and this is the report for Liberia to be produced by the framework setup by the EITI board.”
Receiving the report, the MSG-LEITI chairman, C. Mike Doryen lauded his colleagues from the MSG and the LEITI staff for their collaboration and dedication, indicating that they have shown that Liberia has professional that can positively shift the developmental paradigm of the country.
Chairman Doryen explained that the LEITI MSG commissioned its 12th EITI report and hired the services of the BDO in collaboration with Parker and Associates Liberia, a two reputable firm to prepare the 12th EITI for the country at the start of November 2020.
According to him, the LEITI’s 12th EITI report shows that the government of Liberia generated US$79.63 million as total revenues from the extractive sector, pointing out that the report also shows that total revenues from the extractive sector increased from US$68.98m in 2017/18 to US$79.63m in 2018/19 resulting into a net increase of US$10.65m or 15.4%.
He added that total extractive sector revenues dropped by 12.2% in the first half of 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy, emphasizing that the report also reveals challenges in sectorial oversight, data collection, and licensing process among others, and said that the LEITI will begin to work with relevant government ministries and agencies to address these concerns.
“For the first time, Liberia’s EITI report includes information on Beneficial Ownership of companies in the oil, mining, agriculture, and forestry sectors. Beneficial Ownership Disclosure is a new requirement under the EIT standard that implementing countries must adhere to and that is why the LEITI is currently collaborating with the Liberia Revenue Authority (LTA), Liberia Business Registry (LBR) and other relevant stakeholders to establish a Beneficiary Ownership Registry for the extractive sector in keeping with EITI requirements,” chairman Doryen intoned.
The MSG-LEITI boss further stated that the MSG has also approved updating of the Mainstreaming Feasibility Study that was first conducted in 2016, alluding that Mainstreaming is the process by which EITI information are disclosed using existing government systems as it also reduces the cost and enhances the timeliness of publishing EITI disclosures.”
Meanwhile, Chairman Doryen also disclosed that with the approval and launch of the report, the 12th EITI Report for Liberia is now set to be disseminated across the country to discuss the findings with the citizens, and solicit feedbacks on how to improve the governance of the extractive sector.