Ivoirian Budget Transparency and the Extractive Industries

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000029 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EEB/IFD/OMA BRIANA SAUNDERS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN EPET ECON PGOV PREL IV SUBJECT: Ivoirian Budget Transparency and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative REF: (A) STATE 1923; (B) ABIDJAN 213 ¶1. (SBU) In response to ref A request, post reports the following: --The central government of Cote d'Ivoire currently receives funding through the FY 2010 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act (SFOAA) as part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). --The GOCI makes its annual budget available to the public at the Ministry of Finance website, www.finances.gouv.ci. Additionally, a hard copy of the budget document is readily available from the Ministry of Finance upon request. --The published budget includes a reasonable level of detail on GOCI income and expenditures. --Post is not convinced the GOCI includes all petroleum revenue in the public budget. Reliable sources have indicated to post that the GOCI substantially understates oil production in its official reports. --Post, working in conjunction with other donor countries and international financial institutions, has strongly encouraged the GOCI to be more transparent in its reporting of petroleum revenue. Following post's submission of last year's report on budget transparency (ref B) and the approval of a waiver for Cote d'Ivoire, post has continued to demonstrate to Ivoirian officials the USG's keen interest in the transparency of revenue from extractive industries, and in particular in the GOCI's continued work on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). --Cote d'Ivoire became an EITI candidate country in May 2008, following creation of the country's EITI National Committee. The GOCI has stated its commitment to meeting the remaining indicators in the EITI validation framework. In Cote d'Ivoire's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF),approved by the IMF Board in March 2009, the GOCI agreed to prepare EITI-compliant reports for oil and gas extraction on a regular basis. The triggers for Cote d'Ivoire's Enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) completion point include "[r]egular public reporting of payments to, and revenues received by, the government for the extractive industries (mining, oil and gas) in line with the EITI criteria, with a recent annual report during at least the year immediately preceding the completion point." --In early January the Hart Group, hired by the GOCI (with World Bank assistance),completed the final draft of an EITI report covering the Ivoirian hydrocarbon sector for the years 2006 and 2007--the first EITI report ever produced on Cote d'Ivoire. ABIDJAN 00000029 002 OF 002 Members of the National EITI Committee received the report on January 12, and committee members expect to consider the document formally before the end of January. The report will then undergo the EITI validation process. It appears that the GOCI may be able to meet the May 2010 deadline for EITI validation. --Should a waiver be required this year, post recommends continuing efforts to encourage GOCI compliance with the EITI- related requirements in Cote d'Ivoire's IMF/HIPC program. NESBITT