East Timor government wants conformity with oil transparency by March
[ 2010-01-22
]
Dili, East Timor, 22 Jan – East Timor plans by achieve conformity with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) by March, the secretary of state for the Council of Ministers said Thursday in Dili.
Ágio Pereira, who is also the government spokesman, said the aim was for conformity to be recognised, an aim which is shared by 30 other countries, although only two have so far achieved this goal.
The EITI established the global transparency standards for the oil, gas and mining sectors and requires nations to work with civil society and private companies in order to reach a level of transparency in managing their natural resources.
The EITI has 18 requirements to be fulfilled to provide its declaration of conformity, and East Timor is in the final stages of the process.
East Timor set up a working group involving various players headed up by the secretary of state for Natural Resources, Alfredo Pires, which published its report in December 2009.
Since the launch of the East Timor EITI report, the country has been praised by the World Bank and other international organisations for its efforts to ensure transparency and responsibility in managing the oil sector, particularly in terms of reconciliation and publication of government revenues and industry payments. (macauhub)
All rights reserved. 
