17
OCTOBER 2002
Top World Bank Official Supports More Disclosure of Oil
Revenue Payments
Top
World Bank Official Supports More Disclosure of Oil
Revenue Payments.Oil, gas and mineral companies
should fully disclose their payments to governments
of developing nations, the head of the World Bank's
private sector lending arm said recently, adding another
voice to a steadily growing campaign for such disclosures.
More ...
Woicke
Statement Welcomed. International NGOs welcomed
the World Bank's call for greater transparency. Simon
Taylor of the London-based Global Witness, an NGO
that has examined the links between the exploitation
of natural resources and human rights abuses, said
Woicke made "a very significant and useful comment
on this general principle." More
...
The
World Bank/Angola Connection.The World Bank
has recently shown interest in the fate of oil revenues
in Angola and has gone to the extent of underwriting
a major accounting effort. But the Bank isn't releasing
the results. More ...
Top
World Bank Official Supports More Disclosure of
Oil Revenue Payments
Oil, gas and mineral companies should fully disclose
their payments to governments of developing nations,
the head of the World Bank's private sector lending
arm said recently, adding another voice to a steadily
growing campaign for such disclosures.
Peter Woicke, executive vice president of the International
Finance Corporation, stated, ''We would come a long
way if all-and I emphasize all-natural resource
companies would make their transfers of royalties,
fee payments and other revenues to host countries
fully transparent.'' He spoke Sept. 30 at an ''IFC
Client Luncheon'' held in Washington, D.C. during
the IMF-World Bank annual meeting.
In making his case, Woicke predicted that such disclosures
''in turn would push governments to invest more
wisely.''
''Hiding behind confidentiality agreements does
not help anybody,'' he continued, ''and those with
the most to gain financially from these projects,
the poor people, are too often affected the least.''
Such disclosures, however, will not be made a condition
of IFC lending. An IFC spokeswoman said, ''These
are all just suggestions, nothing has been done
so far."
International
NGOs welcomed the World Bank's call for greater transparency.
Simon Taylor of the London-based Global Witness, an
NGO that has examined the links between the exploitation
of natural resources and human rights abuses, said
Woicke made "a very significant and useful comment
on this general principle." Global Witness is
part of more than 60 NGOs worldwide that make up the
Publish What You Pay Coalition, formed earlier this
year to campaign for greater transparency on payments
for oil and other natural resources.
Taylor is particularly encouraged by behind-the-scenes
consultations on information disclosure currently
taking place between the government of the United
Kingdom, NGOs and several major oil companied he declined
to name.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair himself endorsed
more openness in a speech at the Johannesberg environmental
summit this summer. "We want to work with developing
countries to ensure that revenues from natural resources
are used effectively to reduce poverty," he said.
"So the UK is taking a leading role in bringing
together countries, businesses, development agencies
and NGOS to tackle the current lack of information
available, and ensure that all payments by companies
are published openly. It will only work if all agree
to go forward, together. We want others to join us.
We have already received commitments from a wide range
of partners who want to work with us to devise a workable
scheme." Click
here for the full text of Blair's speech.
Overall,
in Taylor's assessment, "The political indicators
of a will to move forward are way ahead of where they
were six months ago."
The proposals include encouraging countries to make
mandatory disclosures on revenue payments part of
routine corporate disclosure requirements. Some companies,
however, prefer voluntary action. Others are open
to disclosure but fear going it alone; they also want
protection from sanctions from governments, such as
that in Angola, that prefer to keep revenue payments
secret.
While exact figures are unavailable, Taylor says that
in Angola, revenue payments of as much as $1 billion
a year for the last five years are unaccounted for.
He contrasts this with reports that the Angolan government
is willing to spend only $60 million for current efforts
to alleviate the current hunger crisis there, describing
the disparity between what the government earns and
what it is willing to spend on its suffering people
as "hideous."
The
World Bank/Angola Connection
The
World Bank has recently shown interest in the fate
of oil revenues in Angola and has gone to the extent
of underwriting a major accounting effort. But the
Bank isn't releasing the results.
The $2-million oil sector "diagnostic" study
being conducted by KPMG was commissioned, under Bank
pressure, by the Finance Ministry in Angola. It is
being funded 30 percent by the Bank. The Bank and
the IMF will receive copies when it is completed.
Several interim reports were contemplated. The Angolan
government has promised to make some of the results
public.
However, under Bank policies, the results of the study
are officially the property of the Angolan government
and do not fall under the Bank's disclosure policy,
according to Bank officials. Letters to the Bank requesting
the study are not returned, consistent with the lack
of a Bank policy requiring that requests for information
be answered or that reasons for nondisclosure be explained.
Also, one Bank official told freedominfo.org, the
study has been delayed and is not complete.
The Bank and the Fund are making some efforts in ongoing
negotiations with Angola to make the release of oil
revenue data a condition for loans. But those long-running
discussions have yet to be concluded.
The
Chashma Right Bank Irrigation Project in Pakistan commenced
in 1978. (Photo: Asian Development Bank)
ABOUT
IFTI WATCH In
this column, Washington, D.C.-based journalist Toby
J. McIntosh reports on the latest developments
in information disclosure in International Financial
and Trade Institutions (IFTI).
Contact: tmcintosh@bna.com or
1-(202) 452-4498
