Critical Resource, a specialist firm providing advice on sustainability and stakeholder issues, has on their site a 60 second Q&A with Jonas Moberg, Head of the EITI Secretariat.

"Despite the persistence of Africa’s natural and man-made horrors, the latest trend is cheeringly positive", The Economist writes in a Leader article. Further it writes: "Another promising new mechanism is the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, a voluntary code that a score of African countries have adopted, with governments and foreign firms accounting openly for their dealings."

According to this article in the Oil & Gas Journal, EITI is good for business, but needs to be implemented carefully to avoid pitfalls.

UPDATE: Legal Analyst Matthuew Genasci at the Revenue Watch Institute has written a response where he concludes: "Where a company makes no improper payments and accurately reports, disaggregated reporting offers the best protection from FCPA scrutiny"

File: 

Arnold and Porter LLP - Firms Can Avoid EITI FCPA Pitfalls Oil and Gas Journal 2008-07-21.pdf

Nick Thomas, Director of Corporate Affairs in ExxonMobil has written a Letter to the Editor in Financial Times Friday 2 May that emphasizes that ExxonMobil has been a strong supporter of EITI from its very begining. The letter was a response to a Financial Times report on the launch of the PRT report earlier in the week.

In an op-ed piece in Financial Times 10 April, Paul Collier and Michael Spence write:

Any international standards for resource extraction must be voluntary. Fortunately, in this area voluntary standards have a good record. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, launched in 2002 as a standard for revenue reporting, has a wide take-up. Standards provide rallying points for reformers and a benchmark for performance and promote competition between governments.

Reuters reports that Gabon has lifted the suspension on 22 NGOs after the Government was confronted with the fact that the ban was incompatible with Gabon's membership of the EITI. The participation of independent civil society is a fundamental component of the multi-stakeholder nature of the EITI, which champions dialogue between governments, industry, and civil society.

In an Op-ed in the Jakarta Post 29 November, EITI Chairman Peter Eigen writes that joining EITI would be a natural fit to Indonesian President Yudhoyono's ambitious reform agenda. Also, the Initiative would in important areas stand to gain from Indonesia's joining.

Asia Times, 20 November 2007, Andrew Symon:
Not enough oil troubles Cambodia's waters

Now, apparently to subdue its critics, the [Cambodian] government says it might join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a recently established international mechanism with a secretariat in Oslo, Norway, which brings governments and companies together to promote good governance over natural resource-generated revenues.

Azeri Oil Fund

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Azeri Oil Fund

31 Mar 2007, The Arab American News

Another urgent issue facing Yemen is rampant corruption. The Yemeni government has taken some important steps to combat corruption such as signing on to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative as well as issuing a new law controlling government tenders. A cabinet reshuffle in 2006 was a good step in establishing discipline within some ministries. However, the Civil Service Ministry, like the Water Ministry, is unable to fully implement a progressive plan without intergovernmental cooperation