The recent recognition of Guinea, at a meeting in Mexico, as a “country meeting the standard of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)” has been hailed by Dr. Mamadou Taran Diallo, a member of the local branch of the EITI.
Of the 44 member countries of the EITI, including 16 other candidate countries, Guinea became the 28th country meeting the EITI standards. The EITI has 23 African countries out of its 44 members and Guinea became the 16th African country meeting the standards.
“This validation is seen as the pledge and promotion of transparency and good governance likely to make Guinea a mining hub where revenues stemming from the exploitation of the soil and subsoil will be used to directly improve living conditions of the Guinean citizen,” Dr. Diallo said in a statement.
He said meeting the EITI standards will be necessary for the Guinean civil society to ascertain mining revenues and monitor their use for the country’s development.
Dr. Diallo, who is President of the non-governmental organization (NGO) “Publish what you pay”, stressed that the decision of the Board of the EITI has crowned the efforts of the State, mining companies, and the civil society gathered in the Steering Committee of the EITI-Guinea.
According to the NGO, achieving such compliance means that the commitment to publish payments of mining companies, government revenues, according to the requirements of the EITI, was held.
However, Dr. Diallo says the challenge is how to maintain this momentum through anchoring and strengthening the process.
He urged the Government to implement the Court of Auditors for the certification of income received by the State to finalize the texts implementing the Mining Code, and further review mining contracts in accordance with the amended provisions of the 2011 Mining Code.
