Raising Public Awareness and Understanding of EITI in Cote d'Ivoire

In April 2007, following the formal launch of the Ivorian PWYP Coalition, RWI provided financial support in collaboration with the World Bank's Development Grant Facility for civil society capacity building around the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI).

The overall purpose of the start-up project was to disseminate EITI criteria and principles to the various actors (civil society, parliamentarians, media and government); institutionalize the EITI through a proposed law to the parliament; and ensure that the government of Ivory Coast effectively implements the EITI as a means to reduce poverty and promote peace. In furtherance of this goal the coalition has sought to increase awareness of civil society and the media, building EITI capacity and CSO consensus on the issue, and advocacy on behalf of a framework for EITI implementation and legislation.

Following the expressed intent of the Ivory Coast government to join the EITI, the past few years have been an important time to encourage and support implementation endeavors in the country. The PWYP Coalition-Ivory Coast has a clear objective to move EITI forward in Ivory Coast, with comprehensive cross-sector plans for awareness raising and capacity building and an excellent focus on parliamentarians as well as civil society, media, and government ministers. One notable objective of the project is its push for legislation to enshrine EITI in statutory law, as in Nigeria—an ambitious incentive that could be emulated in other countries.

RWI continues working with four lead organizations: Eden International, Droits et Devoirs Democratiques (DDD), Coalition Pour le Plaidoyer Anti-Corruption et la Transparence en Cote d'Ivoire (Copactci), and Gouvernance et Culture du Developpment (GCD), all of whom are founding members of the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Coalition in Cote d'Ivoire.

In 2008, oil revenue was included in the budget for the first time, thanks to the information and awareness campaign organized in 2006-2007 with financial support from Revenue Watch. RWI also supported the coalition in launching a citizens' EITI awareness campaign, which created conditions that necessitated the country's endorsement of EITI and subsequent creation of the EITI National Council (EITI-NC). RWI provided follow-on support to the coalition in 2009 to beef up its EITI activities. Cote d'Ivoire is now due for validation in 2010.

Currently, the coalition seeks to mobilize and sensitize the public to influence natural resource management policies through the production of a white paper on the management of natural resources. The broad aim of this project is to monitor EITI implementation in the hope that local communities can participate in and benefit from the extractive industries. Specifically, the project intends to enhanced transparency in extractive sector contracts, the establishment of five local committees comprised of local NGOs and associations that are well informed and educated on the EITI, the enactment of an EITI Law by the National Assembly, and the development of a national policy on the management of revenue derived from extractive industries.

For more information on the activities of PWYP-Ivory Coast, please see www.publishwhatyoupay.org/en/where/coalitions/cote-divoire.