Join EITI (TN0041)

Enhancing transparency in the extractive industries sector by joining the EITI initiative
Beginning of October 2018 – End of August 2020
Lead implementing agency/actor
Ministry of Industry and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Commitment description
The extractive industries sector is considered one of the most strategic sectors and the highest level of interest from citizens and civil society organizations. These actors are exerting continued pressure to enhance sector transparency and enable access to information especially that related to production, collected resources, in addition to signed contracts and the companies benefiting from them.
Within the framework of enhancing the achieved initiatives in this sector, such as the open data portal for the energy and mines sector, Tunisia will also continue process of preparing to join the extractive industries transpar- ency initiative "EITI". Membership in this initiative represents an indication of Tunisia's completion of the required criteria on extractive industries transparency and its readiness to carry out continued reforms to ensure good governance of this sector and transparency promotion. This can be achieved through publishing all reports and required data, as well as helping build trust between all relevant stakeholders, which will improve the investment climate in the sector.
Therefore, several actions will be taken to allow Tunisia to join this initiative which are as follow:
- Completion of the selection of company representatives as well as government representatives in the
multi-stakeholder group;
- Supporting the multi-stakeholder group by preparing a study on the diagnosis of the governance system of
hydrocarbons and mining sectors;
- Developing an action plan for the multi-stakeholder group;
- Submitting a request to join the EITI initiative;
- Inter-communication between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Small and
Medium-Sized Enterprises:
- Capacity building of the multi-stakeholder group representatives.
Problem/Background
Despite the development of the open data portal for the energy and mining sector to enhance its transparency following the campaign "Where is petrol" which aimed to pressure officials in this sector to provide access to information on management of this wealth, citizens and civil society actors are still lacking access to information on natural resource governance. In this regard protest movements displayed that transparency can't be a unilateral act by the administration or a circumstantial act triggered resulting from a temporary campaign. Rather, it must be within a participa- tory framework gathering all actors involved in the sector such as govern- ment, companies and civil society, in order to define the governance system deficiencies and to make efforts to solve these issues together under a shared plan that will build trust between actors.
Identification of commitment objectives/expected results
- Promoting transparency in the energy and mining sector through publishing reports containing data and information about the energy and mining resources management within the framework of joining the EITI initiative;
- Creating and institutionalizing space for dialogue between the various actors. This will ensure dialogue is regular, sustainable and methodological;
- Solving issues and problems related to sector governance, including legal and institutional issues through a participatory approach. How will the commitment contribute to solve the public problem?
- Enabling citizens and civil society components to access information and thus enhancing sector transparency and reducing criticisms and protests that this sector faced and that may lead to the disruption of production;
- Promoting sector integrity and fighting corruption through adopting a participatory approach to enhance the sector governance through establishing the multi-stakeholder group comprising various actors and having an important role in promoting integrity and transparen-
Relevance with OGP values
Transparency and openness: promoting access to information on energy and mining resource management through the publication of reports in the framework of joining the EITI initiative.
Participation: expanding the scope of actors involved in the sector gover- nance, particularly by relying on the multi stakeholder group. Accountability: Empowering citizens and civil society actors to monitor the energy and mines resource governance and therefore combat corrup- tion and hold perpetrators accountable.

Source of funding/
Relation with other programs and policies
Budget of the Ministry of Industry and Small and Medium-Sized Enterpris- es / Natural Resource Governance Institute through building capacity of the multi-stakeholder group representatives and all other actors in the sector and providing the necessary technical support.
Steps and execution agenda
Beginning of October 2018

End of October 2018
Contact Information
Name of the responsible person from implementing agency
Title and Department
Ministry of Industry and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
E-mail address
Other Actors involved
State actors involved
Access to Information Authority
CSOs, private sector, multilaterals, working groups
- Natural Resource Governance Institute - Tunisian Coalition for Transparency in
Energy and Mines
- Tunisian Association of Development Law

6. Enhancing transparency in the extractive industries sector

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

"The extractive industries sector is considered one of the most strategic sectors and the highest level of interest from citizens and civil society organizations. These actors are exerting continued pressure to enhance sector transparency and enable access to information especially that related to production, collected resources, in addition to signed contracts and the companies benefiting from them.

Within the framework of enhancing the achieved initiatives in this sector, such as the open data portal for the energy and mines sector, Tunisia will also continue process of preparing to join the extractive industries transparency initiative "EITI". Membership in this initiative represents an indication of Tunisia's completion of the required criteria on extractive industries transparency and its readiness to carry out continued reforms to ensure good governance of this sector and transparency promotion. This can be achieved through publishing all reports and required data, as well as helping build trust between all relevant stakeholders, which will improve the investment climate in the sector."

Milestones:

• Completion of the selection of company representatives as well as government representatives in the multi-stakeholder group;
• Supporting the multi-stakeholder group by preparing a study on the diagnosis of the governance system of hydrocarbons and mining sectors;
• Developing an action plan for the multi-stakeholder group;
• Submitting a request to join the EITI initiative;
• Inter-communication between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises:
• Capacity building of the multi-stakeholder group representatives.

Responsible institution: Ministry of Industry and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Supporting institution(s): Access to Information Authority, Natural Resource Governance Institute, Tunisia Coalition for Transparency in energy and Mines, Tunisian Association of Development Law

Start date: October 2018                                           End date: August 2020

Editorial Note: This is a partial version of the commitment text. For the full commitment text from the Tunisia national action plan, see here.

Context and Objectives

This commitment aims to enhance transparency in the extractive sector. It has been carried forward from Commitment 1 of the previous action plan. Under the previous action plan, implementation of the commitment was limited, and the focal point and project coordinator were each replaced three times. ^[26] The current action plan’s commitment includes slightly different milestones, but overall, it continues to offer measures to strengthen the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) multi-stakeholder group (MSG) and expedite the process of submitting a request to EITI for Tunisian membership in the initiative.

The milestones under this commitment address selecting private sector and government MSG representatives, conducting a study to identify the challenges in the mining sector, developing an action plan for MSG, submitting a request to join EITI, and inter-communication between related ministries. Except for the last milestone regarding inter-communication between related ministries, the milestones are verifiable and can be measured.

This commitment is relevant to the OGP value of civic participation, as reflected by the multi-stakeholder group with participation from CSOs and the private sector.

This commitment could represent a major step on enhancing transparency in the extractive sector. Joining EITI could substantially increase the sustainability of reforms in this sector. According to the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), this commitment responds to an urgent need to build trust in the extractive sector. NRGI also emphasizes the importance of MSG in filling a gap in dialogue among stakeholders, which has significantly obstructed reform in the past. ^[27] However, the commitment does not clarify whether MSG will go beyond meeting the requirements of the EITI and how it will reconcile the interest of the private sector, CSOs, and the government. Reportedly, the private sector has not welcomed the EITI initiative, and has lobbied parliament and government officials to block its implementation, which is likely to pose a challenge to this commitment. ^[28] Additionally, while new information will be developed through the study on the governance system of hydrocarbons and mining, the commitment does not clarify how this information will be made available to the general public.

Next step
Extractive sector transparency is a key area for reform, with further potential to leverage the OGP process to achieve impact. For future action plans, the IRM recommends the following:

• Promote proactive publication of information on this sector to support CSO and citizen oversight;
• Make sure the multi-stakeholder groups addresses concerns regarding private sector commitment to participation in the initiative, finding a balance of different interests;
• In accordance with NRGI recommendations, CSOs on the MSG should establish a rigorous communication strategy with wider civil society in order to ensure that priorities truly represent civil society needs and interests. ^[29]

6. Enhancing transparency in the extractive industries sector

Substantial:

The Ministry of Industry and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises organized a national dialogue on energy and mines on 30 May 2019, followed by a Ministerial Council on 7 June 2019 on its outcomes. [47] The National Anti-Corruption Authority and parliament members were responsible for organizing elections of five representatives from 25 CSOs, including from producing regions of Tunisia, to the extractive industries transparency initiative (EITI) multistakeholder group. [48] The group also includes seven representatives from government institutions, one of which represents the Ministry of Finance. According to Wissem Heni, Tunisia Country Manager for the Natural Resource Governance Institute, [49] this participation implements Milestone 5 as it guarantees improved communication between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry. The multistakeholder group created internal rules and drafted a workplan, which it discussed publicly with more than 150 CSOs and private companies on multiple events throughout Tunisia’s oil producing regions in 2020. [50]

The Ministry of Industry and civil society actors completed the sixth milestone by holding a training session for the EITI-multistakeholder representatives in September 2019. [51] The ministry and the multistakeholder group also implemented substantially the crucial fourth milestone by drafting the request to join the EITI initiative. However, the ministry has not yet completed and submitted this request. [52] While progress was made, changes in ministry leadership and private sector lobbying have since inhibited further EITI advancement in Tunisia.