Editorial: Transparency; Another blow to Cameroon!.

The cheerless news is coming just two months after President Biya, in his speech to the nation on December 31, banked on the mineral sector as one of the paramount sources of revenue. 

"Solid minerals, especially gold," he said, "appear to be an excellent niche for financial resources. Our country is richly endowed with mineral resources that need to be exploited".

According to statistics, as a leading producer of crude oil and rich deposits of natural gas, cobalt, bauxite, iron ore, gold and diamonds, Cameroon’s extractive sector plays a significant role in the country’s economy, contributing 31.15% of exports by value.

The EITI in Cameroon also helped to strengthen the country’s Mining Code, which was amended in 2016, to mandate that mining companies comply with the disclosure requirements of the EITI Standard. 

The EITI can further play a role to inform debate on matters of public interest, such as how oil, gas and mining revenues are shared with hosting communities, and how the environmental impact of the extractive activities is managed. 

"We believe that a country’s natural resources belong to its citizens. Our mission is to promote understanding of natural resource management, strengthen public and corporate governance and accountability, and provide the data to inform policymaking and multi-stakeholder dialogue in the extractive sector," EITI says. 

For the country to benefit from such minerals, which nature has so abundantly blessed Cameroon with, there must be transparency for the benefit of the host community and country in extracting them.

The EITI, which Cameroon adheres to, sets a standard in building awareness in the sector's activities and revenues by "supporting the responsible and transparent production of minerals that are critical for a sustainable future".

It provides data that "can help identify and close channels for corruption; not only in mining, oil and gas but increasingly in the renewable sector".   

In each country that has joined the EITI, a multi-stakeholder group, composed of government, companies and civil society support the implementation of the EITI standards. 

Cameroon has failed to live by those standards. That is why on March 1, 2024,  EITI announced that it has suspended the country from its programme "until its next validation”.

The watchdog organisation expressed strong concerns over breaches of the EITI protocol in the participation of civil society related to freedom of expression and association.

It, however, noted that Cameroon made significant strides in areas such as transparency in extractive contracts and identifying actual beneficiaries, attempts to improve the availability of data on payments declared by extractive sector companies, including the national oil company, and on revenues received by the relevant government entities.

However, the EITI's international secretariat demanded better involvement of civil society in the process. 

The institution's analysis indicates that the suspension serves as a message not only to the Cameroonian authorities but also to the civil society that needs to intensify its efforts.

The EITI document pointed out weaknesses in civil society engagement within the EITI and in its inability to use the process to influence public decision-making. 

These challenges relate to lack of accountability among the majority of civil society representatives within the Multi-Stakeholder Group, MSG, and broader governance issues.

It is not the first time Cameroon has been suspended. The EITI Board temporarily suspended Cameroon on April 1, 2021, for failing to publish its 2018 EITI Report. 

In accordance with the EITI standards, it was agreed that the suspension would be lifted if the EITI Board was satisfied that the outstanding EITI report was published within six months of the deadline.

Yaounde belatedly published its 2018 EITI report on June 30, 2021, and the suspension was lifted.

For the second suspension to be lifted, the "Board has detailed that Cameroon will have until the next Validation, commencing on April 1, 2027, to carry out corrective actions" based on the "distribution of extractive industry revenues, Public debate, Data accessibility and open data".

The government will also among failures, correct over 36 concerns raised by the Board to "ensure public disclosure of the beneficial owners of all corporate entities that apply for or hold a participating interest in an oil, gas or mining exploration or production license or contract". 

To avoid members of government awarding contracts to themselves or undeserving relatives, it should also "establish a publicly accessible register of beneficial owners, at least for the extractive industries".

The Guardian Post hopes government will fulfil the conditions as the implication for the suspension include, among other impediments to the country's extractive industry, discouraging foreign investors from putting their money where transparency is not guaranteed.