Management of revenue from extractive sector hailed

By LUKE KAMA
THE International Secretariat of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is pleased with the progress Papua New Guinea has made to promote transparent and accountable management of revenues from its natural resources.
Alex Gordy, who is the validation director for the EITI International Secretariat based at Oslo, Norway, said this in Port Moresby yesterday during a media conference before leaving the country.
Gordy and a senior official from the EITI International Secretariat, Gay Ordinez, had been in the country since April 1 to assess and validate the work PNG EITI Secretariat has been doing since its establishment in the country in 2013.
“I came in 2013 to assist Lucas Alkan, who is the head of the PNGEITI Secretariat now, to set up the secretariat,” he said.
“I am pleased to say that PNG, through the secretariat, is producing information and data which was never available in the country
before concerning revenue and transactions from the extractive industries.
“Great progress has been made and that is critical to improve transparency and accountable management of revenues from the extractive sector.”
He said PNG was one of the 51 resource-rich member countries of EITI, which aimed to promote transparent and accountable management of revenues from their natural resources.
Gordy and Ordinez met with key agencies of the State involved in the extractive sector, like the Department of Petroleum and Energy, Finance and Treasury departments, Mineral Resources Authority, Auditor-General’s Office, oil and gas and
mining companies operating in the country.
They also met with civil society and non-government organisations, and media.
Gordy said he would provide a validation report to the EITI International Secretariat which would then do further assessment and give a rating on PNG’s performance.
He said the assessment process would take about three months, after which a report would be released on the performance of PNG as a country.