EITI Process Diagram

The EITI has established a 7-step process for how a country implements the Initiative. This process identifies the different stages where governments companies and stakeholders can become involved to promote greater transparency. The following diagram provides an outline of the EITI process for an implementing country. Please refer to the EITI Source book for additional details on the EITI process.

Initiation

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  • Government identifies the key EITI stakeholders through a formal stakeholder assessment process and identifies the drivers, feasibility and impact of implementing EITI.
  • Government issues a formal, public statement of its intention to implement EITI and indicates the measures that the government has taken or will take to meet the EITI Criteria.
  • Government reviews the legal framework to identify any potential obstacles to EITI implementation.

Set up

  • Government appoints, and publicly announces an individual to lead EITI implementation, as well as defining governance structure and appropriate resources/funding to support EITI implementation.
  • Government establishes a multi-stakeholder committee with a high-level of representation from civil society and the private sector, as well as outreach and awareness mechanisms.
  • Government agrees to EITI implementation work plan with its key EITI stakeholders and makes this information publicly available. A work plan for continued implementation should cover, for example, capacity building of government, industry and local NGOs; steps to help reconciliation of payments and revenues; and measurement of achievement against targets for each actor with agreed costs and timelines.

Process Development

  • The process for developing reporting templates for the disclosure of revenues under EITI for companies and governments is agreed.
  • Arrangements are made to assist stakeholders in understanding and completing the reporting templates.
  • Appointment of an administrator, trusted by stakeholders, to collect and evaluate the revenue and payments data provided by companies and government. The administrator may be a private audit firm, an individual or an existing or specially created official body that is universally regarded as independent of, and immune to influence by, the government.
  • Government identifies and maintains a sustainable source of funding to collate and audit revenue data from all relevant government agencies and all extractive industry.
  • Identify capacity building needs and implement related programs among key EITI stakeholders to ensure they understand the processes involved in reporting in order to establish the credibility of the process.

Implementation

Disclosure and Publication

  • Reporting templates for the disclosure of revenues under EITI are revised to reflect country- and sector-specific situations and requirements, and stakeholder input. The templates clearly establish the precise scope and nature of disclosure, including all material benefit streams (e.g. host government's production entitlement, national state-owned company production entitlement, profits taxes, royalties, dividends, bonuses, license fees, other significant benefits to host government), as well as accounting principles and treatments to allow comparison of company and host government information.
  • Implement mechanisms (voluntary or legal) to ensure that all extractive industry companies (including international, national, and state-owned companies) operating in the country report in a timely manner and use the agreed reporting templates.
  • Companies and the government use existing procedures and institutions, and international standards (e.g. existing auditors) to ensure the credibility of the data on payments and revenues submitted to the administrator.
  • Administrator reconciles company and government submissions as a basis for the EITI Report for the implementing country.
  • Stakeholders agree to:
    • An acceptable margin of error for any discrepancy that is discovered by the administrator between the submissions;
    • Who will be responsible for the disclosure of the results of EITI implementation; and
    • If data will be publicly available in an aggregated or a disaggregated manner. (Note: the final decision rests with host government on this last point).

Public Dissemination and Discussion

Disclosure of all payments and revenues to a wide audience in a publicly accessible, comprehensive and comprehensible manner (e.g. published on the national EITI website, range of different media including newspapers, television, radio, and local workshops). . Government proactively arranges a public discussion around the reported revenues, to ensure that key stakeholders are able to discuss, evaluate and interpret the results, and to demonstrate a willingness to be responsible and accountable for extractive industry revenues.

Review

  • Key stakeholders set the terms for, and participate in (through surveys or interviews) a review of the EITI process to help the country assess the benefits of implementation, show status and focus on improving future implementation. A formal, independent assessment may lend increased credibility to the review.
  • Establish appropriate feedback mechanisms to incorporate and use appropriate feedback from stakeholders in order to ensure effective and sustainable implementation.

Validation

  • For countries that are implementing EITI (Candidate countries), but have not fully implemented EITI, validation can measure progress in implementation.
  • For countries that have fully implemented EITI (Compliant countries), validation provides an absolute assessment of whether the country is or is not compliant with EITI Principles and Criteria. (Note: see EITI Validation Guide for more detailed information).