With Emma Tarrant Tayou, RWI Africa regional associate
As students around the world headed back to school this September, Revenue Watch welcomed its first francophone Africa "summer school" class in Yaounde, Cameroon.
The two-week course, which brought together members of the media and civil society to better their understanding of oil, gas and mining, marked the launch of RWI's Francophone Africa Regional Extractive Industry Knowledge Hub. It's one of six "knowledge hubs" Revenue Watch is creating in partnership with academic institutions to support transparency and good governance advocates across the world. The first RWI hub, for anglophone Africa, launched in 2008 in Accra, Ghana, followed by hubs in Latin America and Eurasia. Two more are expected to follow in the Asia-Pacific region and in the Middle East/North Africa.
The francophone Africa hub was attended by representatives from 12 resource-rich countries from central and west Africa, including: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Niger, the Republic of Congo and Senegal. From 5 to 16 September, thirty-five participants filled the classrooms of the Catholic University of Central Africa, eager to learn more about the oil, gas and mining industry and to discuss their respective countries' experiences.
"The mining sector is very important in my home, the Democratic Republic of Congo," said Ibond Rupas Anzam of SADRI, an NGO focused on integrated regional development. "The revenues generated, if properly managed, are crucial for the development of my country. I came to this training because, as a civil society actor, I have an important role to play."
Experts in fields from geology to economics lectured and led discussions on fiscal regimes, contracts and legislation, budget monitoring and the importance of disaggregated industry data, as well as on increasing the availability of information about extractive licenses and contracts.
"I was very impressed by the range of subjects," said Prisca Macaillat, who works for the Justice and Peace Commission in the Republic of Congo. "I work on extractive industries but wasn't aware of all the different areas that should be considered. I would look only at the impact of oil production on communities, but now I've learned that transparency and fiscal regimes are linked to everyday realities."
Outside the classroom, the group took a field trip to the Cameroon-Chad pipeline and visited local villages affected by this oil project. While the attendees returned home with a new wealth of knowledge, hearing the struggles and successes of their classmates firsthand were among the most valuable lessons. Members of Cameroonian civil society learned about modifying mining codes and partnering with ministries from Guinean NGOs. Participants from Niger and Guinea helped classmates from Burkina Faso and the Republic of Congo develop ideas for promoting transparency.
"The summer school presented a rare moment where we in civil society were able to share ideas and learn from one another," said Jaff Napoleon of RELUFA, a network of secular and religious non-profit organizations in Cameroon.
Though the students have now returned to their respective countries, the hub will provide further support through a mentoring program that can help them implement their action plans and continue to increase their knowledge in the field.
View a photo slideshow from the hub training. (Photos Emma Tarrant Tayou)
