The signing of capacity building project will improve gaps currently present in two reports on revenues from the extractive industries.
Head of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Secretariat, Lucas Alkan, said this during the signing of meeting minutes to begin the ‘Improving Resource Related Revenue Management Project.’
Alkan said the first two reports of the Secretariat for 2013 and 2014 contained significant gaps in fiscal reporting of revenues generated and distributed from the mineral, oil and gas sectors.
He said with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the reporting on revenues from the extractive industry will drastically improve.
“We are privileged to have JICA to address, not all, but some of the issues that we outlined in the recommendations in the reports,” said Alkan.
JICA says this is the first EITI project in the world for them to be involved in and said they were happy to assist the PNG EITI improve revenue management from the extractive sector.
JICA Chief Representative, Takashi Toyoma, said the project is an important part of JICA’s overall support for Economic Development in PNG.
“The project is in line with the broader pillar for strengthening the foundation of economic growth agreed at the 7th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM) in 2015.
“JICA is confident that this project will provide the mechanism to improve revenue management for the extractive sector in Papua New Guinea,” Toyoma said.
Under the project JICA will provide to the EITI technical assistance through the provision of experts and facilitate targeted training for PNG Government counterparts to learn from other EITI candidate countries.
Capacity building will undertaken in government agencies such as the Department of Petroleum and Energy (DPE), the Finance Department, Internal Revenue COmmision (IRC), Mineral Resources Authority (MRA), and the Department of National Planning & Monitoring (DNPM).
The PNG EITI is a PNG Government initiative established in 2013 to promote accountability and transparency of revenue received from the country’s mining and oil and gas sector.
The body implements global EITI standards through its multi stakeholder group comprising of Government representative, industry partners and civil society groups.
Picture (From left): Acting Secretary Department of Petroleum and Energy, Kepsie Puiye; PNG EITI Head of Secretariat, Lucas Alkan; Acting First Secretary Foreing Aid Division DNPM, Loia Joy Vaira; Leader of Detailed Planning Survey Team, Taichi Sakano.