2023-06-22 22:52:47
Dakar is preparing this year to start exporting its gas and oil. And the expectations are huge. But for the resources to benefit the population, civil society calls for good transparency to limit the risks of corruption, which are very high in the sector.
From our correspondent in Dakar,
The extractive industries sector is particularly prone to corruption and embezzlement as explained by Papa Farra Diallo, president of the Senegalese chapter of the Publish What You Pay coalition: “ This is a sector that carries a lot of financial stakes. If we are not careful, if we do not have good leadership, and a good traceability system throughout the value chain, it is the door open to corruption. ».
From this awareness was born the EITI standard, or initiative for transparency in the extractive industries. Many countries like Senegal adhere to it, and the standard has enabled advances in traceability, such as the obligation to publish mining, gas and oil contracts.
Glencore already pinned
But some denounce a certain hypocrisy. The Swiss mining group Glencore, for example, was fined $700 million for corruption in the United States, but was still one of the sponsors of the EITI global conference in mid-June, to the tune of $50,000. . Souad Aden Osman is the head of the secretariat of the African Union panel on illicit financial flows: “ Glencore was taken. We end up with a company that continues to operate in the 6 countries that we consider victims. If it hadn’t been for this robust investigation in the United States, nothing would have been known. Now that it’s known and that everything is there, everyone pretends not to have seen anything ! »
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Contacted, the EITI says it condemns these practices and is in discussion with Glencore regarding the preventive measures taken by the company. In Senegal, the Publish What You Pay coalition is calling for additional efforts from the state to improve trust: “ Senegal has adopted a decree on the RBE, the beneficial ownership scheme, to find out which companies are winning in outsourcing. So it is extremely important that Senegal go further and that this register of beneficial owners be published and be public. »
1 trillion losses
Senegal might draw nearly one and a half billion euros in revenue from its gas and oil between 2023 and 2025. Beyond the publication of contracts and licenses, the NGO NRGI wants solid control mechanisms. Aida Diop is a senior program officer for the organization: ” We need to put in place measures that prevent holders from being able to abuse their position, which includes controls on lobbying, donations, elite public-private office swaps, effective anti-corruption measures, and enforced in companies involved in the sector including and especially in entities such as PetroSen ».
According to the NGO Global Financial Integrity, Africa has lost over $1 trillion in illicit financial flows over the past 50 years.
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