Recent Articles

Joe Bell talks about providing expert advice to governments as they negotiate oil and mining contracts.

Blog ~ 10:05, 30 September 2011

The National Transitional Council approved a new Mining Code that includes several key practices to help prevent corruption and promote transparency.



News Article ~ 12 September 2011
On 2 September, Guinean civil society welcomed the government submitting to parliament the country's revised mining code.
News Article ~ 7 September 2011
On 2 March, Ghana's long-awaited Petroleum Revenue Management Bill was passed unanimously in Parliament. The bill will significantly contribute to responsible economic stewardship of resource revenues, committing the nation to saving a portion of revenues in "Heritage and Stabilization" funds and to using earnings for domestic development.
News Article ~ 3 March 2011
At a joint press conference in Conakry on 1 March, the newly elected president of Guinea, Alpha Conde, and George Soros, founder of the Open Society Foundations, announced that the country's forthcoming mining code will be committed to the principles of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and will target industry corruption and bribery.
News Article ~ 3 March 2011
Ghana's new "Petroleum Revenue Management Bill," which the government recently introduced to parliament, provides a strong framework for the collection and management of the country's expected petroleum revenues. In a new brief from Revenue Watch, RWI Advisory Board Chair Joseph Bell, Legal Analyst Patrick Heller and Deputy Director Antoine Heuty offer comments and suggestions.
News Article ~ 3 August 2010
This May, the government of Uganda circulated a draft Petroleum Bill for the management of the country's emerging oil sector. In a new analysis of the bill from the Revenue Watch Institute, Professor Robert. D. Langenkamp concludes that, despite several positive attributes, the new bill leaves many questions unanswered and many problems unaddressed.
News Article ~ 8 July 2010
On March 30, the Revenue Watch Institute conducted a one-day training session on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) with members of the Tanzanian Parliamentary Standing Committee for Energy and Minerals. The training took place at the parliamentary building in Dar es Salaam, and was organized at the request of the committee after the country joined EITI in February 2009. Close to half of all committee members participated in the training, which was delivered by RWI training and capacity building program officer Matteo Pellegrini and Kaiza Bubelwa, a civil society representative on the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) of  the Tanzania EITI (TEITI). This article intends to provide an overview of the session and lessons for the future.
News Article ~ 20 April 2010
After criticism from a united coalition of civil society groups in Ghana, the Ghanaian government has publicly released a draft proposal on Petroleum Resource Revenue Management, spelling out the key elements of an upcoming bill that will shape future management of oil and gas revenues in the country. While Ghanaian citizens had been invited to comment on the drafting of the bill, the coalition protested the failure of the Ministry of Finance to disclose the proposal ahead of public consultations. The group commended the government for coming to recognize the importance of public input and engagement with dissent.
News Article ~ 12 April 2010
At the beginning of January, Revenue Watch Legal Advisor Matt Genasci and Advisory Board members Robert Conrad and Joseph Bell traveled to Mongolia in conjunction with the Open Society Forum-Mongolia. During the five-day visit, which was organized at the request of the office of the Mongolian president, RWI met with members of the administration, various ministries and parliamentarians to discuss revenue management, contract monitoring and the possible development of a model contract for use in Mongolia's extractive deals. m
News Article ~ 18 February 2010
On February 2, the Revenue Watch Institute launched its new online Resource Center: an interactive database of research, training and policy documents and videos concerning transparency and the management of natural resource wealth. This tool, which compiles a comprehensive selection of research materials from around the world in multiple languages, represents a cross-section of expertise, analysis and good practice.
News Article ~ 18 February 2010
Dr. Keith Myers, the co-founder of Richmond Energy Partners, led a Revenue Watch Institute workshop on oil and gas governance for members of Ghana's parliament last October. The training was part of RWI's ongoing parliamentary project, created in partnership with the Parliamentary Centre. The event also benefited from budgetary support from GTZ. RWI asked Dr. Myers to share his reflections on the training and Ghana's oil future.
News Article ~ 7 January 2010
On October 20, Revenue Watch began a three-day technical workshop for Ghanaian legislators in Sogakope, Ghana, in partnership with German nonprofit GTZ and the Parliamentary Centre.
News Article ~ 27 October 2009
On September 23, as a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced legislation to broaden disclosure of international extractive industry payments, more than 200 activists, policymakers, industry representatives and government officials gathered for a conference that may herald a new stage in the global movement for natural resource transparency and accountability. The event marked the release of Revenue Watch's report Contracts Confidential: Ending Secret Deals in the Extractive Industries, which challenges most of the common objections to openness in extractive industry contracts.
News Article ~ 23 October 2009
The first National Meeting of the Publish What You Pay-Indonesia coalition was held in Jakarta this August. Although the coalition was established in November 2007, due to organizational difficulties there had not yet been a national meeting of the group to establish a formal governance structure—something which has become a necessity as the coalition has grown—and to discuss varied responses to notes from PWYP-Indonesia's 2007 workshop on coalition positioning and work structure.
News Article ~ 4 September 2009
This August, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) released a working draft of its new guidelines for extractive activities. Accounting standards regulate the information companies must publish in annual financial reports, including a company's property, payments, revenues, profits and losses.
News Article ~ 4 September 2009
In a June 30 interview, Revenue Watch Middle East North Africa Director Yahia Said explained the latest steps by Iraq to revitalize its oil sector through contracts with U.S. and foreign firms, and the continuing barriers to new hydrocarbon legislation. "The Iraqis haven't agreed yet on two major issues," Said told Judy Woodruff of "NewsHour." "One is the division of power and responsibilities between the central government and the regions and the province over the industry, who controls the industry, who signs contracts, who manages the fields.
News Article ~ 1 July 2008
Revenue Watch has submitted its analysis of South Africa's latest draft royalty bill, now in its third and reportedly final draft. The submission comes in response to a call for public comments by the South African government.
News Article ~ 28 February 2008
On February 7, 2008, the Revenue Watch Institute brought together African and international experts and policymakers involved in the generation and management of natural resource wealth for a one-day workshop in Dakar, Senegal. The in-depth discussion explored the challenges, opportunities and mechanisms for African countries working to realize greater economic and development benefits from their extractive industries.
News Article ~ 7 February 2008
In June 2006, the Open Society Institute spun off its Revenue Watch program to create an independent Revenue Watch Institute (RWI), a sister organization to coordinate and lead the Soros Foundation Network's (SFN) work on transparency and accountability in resource-rich countries.
News Article ~ 30 June 2006