By: Dwight Links
A panel discussion between various stakeholders looked into whether the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) template is the best fit for Namibia to adopt. The initiative aims to fill gaps in matters of governance, transparency, and corruption.
The panel included Uhuru Dempers from the Council of Churches of Namibia (CCN), Lauren Graham from the Chamber of Mines, Bady Baldé from the EITI, and Maureen Hinda-Mbuende from the Namibia Petroleum Corporation (NAMCOR).
The first tabled topic was that of the disclosure of conflicts of interest and the disclosure of beneficial ownership commonly observed in the extractive industries, and whether any reinforcement measures exist if the nation resists any reforms.
Baldé shared that imagining such a scenario would be difficult, since the EITI platform recognises the sovereign rights and identity of a country.
“It is recognised in the EITI principles, and the entire standard is governed as such. It is very important that national authorities commit to the EITI, but that once that commitment is made, implementation is not personalised but led by the institutions,” Baldé highlighted as a core starting point to note.
He added that though said implementation is meant to be carried by the institutions, some push-backs may occur.
“These could come from the private sector, or they could come from some government entities that are being scrutinised. The nice thing about the standard is that it tries to apply an equal playing field,” he explained.
Baldé went on to indicate that the EITI standard does not aim to be punitive, and instead builds on examples where it is implemented around the world.
From an industry perspective, on the question of potential duplication and compliance fatigue, Graham noted that proactive activities tend to be the answer.
“At the Chamber of Mines, before I joined, there was always an annual reporting basis. But, in recent times, the Chamber has taken a step further in aggregate reporting of the mining industry, performances, and activities for the year. The reporting now allows for various information elements on members of the Chamber. The annual report also goes far to report profits and dividends,” she mentioned.
Graham revealed that the Chamber had experience in dealing with the EITI, and that the former’s consultants were pleased that the current reporting was in line with the EITI standard.
“So, from the Chamber’s perspective, this would not be a duplication of such, but more a streamlining of efforts and standardise the information that is captured when you subscribe to the standard,” Graham noted.
She added that the Chamber has its own strengths in compliance measures currently used by members, sharing that these measures are compliant with the EITI standards in other countries.
Speaking on civil society’s participation in the extractive industries of Namibia, Dempers outlined the core questions arising when examining how societal development and resource extraction can achieve national ambitions.
“Back in 2024, we came together to ask the pertinent questions on why a country like Namibia – that is rich in minerals – is so poor. [We were] asking ourselves in churches and civil society, where are the resources going?” Dempers expressed.
This led to the conclusions of a lack of transparency, issues with illicit financial flows, tax avoidance, and a lack of environmental compliance. Dempers added that for civil society to be on board with having the EITI enforced into local laws, the Initiative “should go a step further, and not remain voluntary participation, and thus not be punitive.”
He also stated that when mining companies damage the environment, stakeholders cannot be silent on the detrimental impact on nature and locals. Citing a recent example of a Topnaar community which was not engaged on the government’s awarding of an operational licence to a company for mining activities in the surrounding areas, Dempers remarked that such examples are what the civil society aims to avoid.
“People did not know about impact assessments – whether it was done or not – they did not know of benefit sharing. All this while, only a few of their children are employed by these ventures in mining,” Dempers noted.
