MIDDLE EAST: Revenue Transparency Project

In July, 2008 Arab Region Parliamentarians Against Corruption (ARPAC) hosted its first meeting for the Revenue Transparency project in Beirut, a joint effort of ARPAC, Revenue Watch and the Arab Anti-Corruption Organization (AACO) dedicated to strengthening legislative oversight of government revenues in the Arab world, with a focus on revenues from the extractive industry. This multi-phased research and capacity building project is conducted in partnership with the Arab Anti-Corruption Organization (AACO).

Though several initiatives in the Arab region have sought to improve financial oversight at the parliamentary level, they have mainly focused on national budgets, governments' financial objectives and how they reflect social and economic priorities. Little focus has been given to promoting revenue transparency. Revenue transparency and parliamentary oversight of the extractive sector are particularly important for MENA, where the vast majority of public budgets are composed of oil and gas revenues. Governments that depend on external revenue sources or resource rents are historically prone to lower accountability and excesses of executive power. Hence, there is a crucial relationship between parliamentary capacity and revenue transparency in any country seeking to foster democracy and development.

Originally conceived by the board of ARPAC in December 2006, this project grew into a three-way partnership with Revenue Watch and AACO in late 2007, following the ARPAC General Assembly meeting in Bahrain.

The initiative will begin with work in five pilot countries: Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Morocco and Yemen, with RWI focusing on the latter three resource rich countries. Phase one will focus on research and mapping. Subsequent project phases will focus on policy implementation, capacity building and public outreach. Revenue Watch and its partners will work to develop tools for effective revenue oversight and to foster parliamentary capacity to use these tools. Working with governments and civil society, RWI, ARPAC and AACO will help to improve the quantity, quality and timeliness of information on government revenues, in order to foster accountability and make the budget process more efficient.

The inaugural July meeting drew parliamentarians from Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco and the Palestinian Authority, a researcher from Yemen, as well as representatives from AACO, the World Bank, and others. Issues raised by country representatives included concerns about monitoring returns on investments; the need for help in analyzing complex revenue data; and greater transparency and clarity in budgeting and taxation. The World Bank presentations emphasized the need for more work on revenue oversight. The ARPAC Board voiced its expectation that ARPAC will be able to take the lead on transparency with the GOPAC.

Phase one will conclude this November when RWI and ARPAC present their findings, including draft guides for improving transparency for parliamentarians, in an interim report delivered to GOPAC in Kuwait.

READ MORE

• RWI PRESENTATION: Revenue Oversight Project | (pdf)
• AGENDA: Transparency in Revenues, The Role of Parliamentarians (pdf)
• PARTICIPANT LIST: Transparency in Revenues, The Role of Parliamentarians (pdf)
• ARPAC Press Release, July 8, 2008 (pdf)
• Arab Region Parliamentarians Against Corruption
• Arab Anti-Corruption Organization