EITI as an Instrument of Fiscal Transparency and Accountability in Contexts of Fragility and Violence

Fiscal transparency is a vital requirement for effective fiscal policymaking. Budgets, including their underlying fiscal forecasts, must provide a clear statement of the government’s budgetary objectives and policy intentions. Credible budgets also require comprehensive, timely, and reliable data about the evolution of public finances, which enables sound financial projections. The extractive industries transparency initiative (EITI) is a global standard for enhancing transparency and accountability in the governance of oil, gas, and mineral resources (that is, the extractive industries). It requires periodic public disclosures of information about a country’s extractive industries. EITI also requires disclosure of financial data relating to extractive industries, such as reconciled figures of company payments and government revenues; revenue allocations and transfers; data on sector exports; and quantitative information about the contribution of the sector to the economy. Analyses of data disclosed through EITI, especially in countries dependent upon extractive industries, often enables the identification and delivery of key measures to strengthen fiscal accountability.