Systematic Disclosures of Extractive Data (SL0036)

Brief Description of the commitment

This commitment seeks to promote open and accountable management of mineral resources through a multi-stakeholder approach. This commitment will further ensure that all relevant agencies and stakeholders work together to enhance and sustain transparency and accountability in the extractives sector through a concrete set of systematic disclosures of data related to extractives sector management, including the legal frameworks, licenses, contracts, beneficial ownership of companies, exploration, production, and export, receipts by government, community payments, and on all transactions across the extractive sector’s value chain.

Problem definition

What problem does the commitment aim to address? EITI-implementing countries, including Sierra Leona, are increasingly making more information available online through systematic disclosures to ensure that transparency is an integral and systematic part of extractive sector management. Disclosing data at source through government and corporate databases, online registries, websites, and portals can provide citizens and stakeholders with accessible and up-to-date information on the sector. Arguably, everyone concerned about transparency and accountability in the sector's governance is more or less affected—specifically, the government, civil society, the media, researchers, and the public. There is a nationwide gap regarding transparency and accountability in the extractive sector. ? Delay or gaps in information leads to suspicion, misunderstanding, and tension between the government and its citizens. The relevant institutions must routinely provide the relevant information to citizens to be timely, up-to-date, and relevant to its users. Only when sanctioned by law will access to sector data remain a challenge throughout the year. The sector is buoyant and active, meaning up-to-date information must always be promptly made available to the citizens. From the inception or discovery of minerals, access to information and availability has always been lacking and challenging to get. Arguably, this has been since 1930, when minerals were first discovered, and continues to be a problem.

What are the causes of the problem? Many stakeholders have suggested that corruption and embezzlement are key factors affecting the sector. Overall, stakeholders have resorted to mainstreaming data and revenue details from the sector to ameliorate the challenges associated with the sector.

Commitment Description

1. What has been done so far to solve the problem? So far, several global initiatives, such as the EITI, Transparency International, the OGP, NRGI, and others, have been established as platforms and resources to fix such issues. The outcome has contributed to the availability of data to some extent, and several countries have signed up for these initiatives, which have also brought alarming awareness.

2. What solution are you proposing? The development of a sector Bill – Extractive Resource Transparency Act is expected to promote the availability of information on the sector and address other related barriers. The Act will also compel stakeholders to do what is right and abide by best practices regarding the sector's governance.

3. What results do we want to achieve by implementing this commitment? The ideal result would be to have a publicly available national Beneficial Ownership register and have institutions routinely publish timely sector data on their websites and other public platforms that can be easily accessible to the public. The need to build a culture of corporate accountability and transparency is central to national development, and at the same time, the proceeds of the revenues generated from the sector must be utilized judiciously for the good of all citizens rather than just a few.

Commitment Planning (Milestones | Expected Outputs)

Stakeholder meetings on the Bill -Engaging Parliament and Law Officers’ Department | Enactment of the Bill into law

Map out MDAs holding such data -Engage MDAs and companies involved through regular meetings | Timely availability of extractive sector data through systematic disclosure