Access to Resources Project

RWI has partnered with Global Witness in the UK to conduct a research project on reducing the role of corruption in access to oil and mineral resources. The project will engage in research and investigation in three to five case study countries where there are grounds for suspecting corruption in the allocation of oil, gas and mining concessions. The main objective is to reduce the role of corruption in access to oil and minerals by exposing specific cases of suspicious behavior by companies and government officials in relation to the issue of mineral concessions or licenses, and promote a set of global criteria for transparency over access to oil and minerals.

Case studies will be produced to highlight recurring situations in which corruption appears to be a serious risk, such as: awarding concessions to companies that are beneficially owned by government officials or people close to them, where companies make legitimate payments to secure concessions but do so in a way that makes the payments vulnerable to misappropriation, and/or where concessions change hands between companies in an un-transparent manner. Global Witness will gather expert opinions as to what rules, procedures and oversight mechanisms would best reduce the risk of corruption in the award of mineral concessions–the aim being to produce a set of transparency criteria that can be applied by producer governments and endorsed by industry, investors and donors to reduce the risk of corruption by ensuring that citizens and concerned third parties have adequate information about the concession process and the parties involved. The ultimate aim of the project is to have the guidelines reflected in law, regulations, industry norms and in donor programmes that deal with governance.