News and resources
Explore our publications on a wide range of topics, to find the powerful facts, stories and approaches that underpin our work to make the extractive industry more open, accountable and participatory.
A year long violation of its constitution, it’s time to publish details of Areva deal with Niger
Last year, on 26 May 2014, the Nigerien government and Areva signed an agreement to renew their partnership on the extraction of uranium. Negotiations had lasted over six months, as Areva were keen to be exempt from certain provisions in the 2006 Mining Code. During that time, Nigerien civil society, parliamentarians, media as well as […]
Stop the Bleeding: ActionAid suggests Malawi lost USD 43 million potential revenue from largest mining project
Malawi could have paid for 431,000 HIV/AIDS treatments or the annual salaries of 17,000 nurses, 8,500 doctors or 39,000 teachers if the USD 43 million of potential revenue had not been lost from its largest mining project. This is according to the recently launched ActionAid International study An Extractive Affair: How one Australian mining company’s […]
Zimbabwe invests $ 3 million in mining exploration activities. Is this the right path towards development?
In an attempt to determine Zimbabwe’s mineral reserves, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has decided to transform the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ), a government owned minerals marketing entity, into an exploration company. The newly created Mineral Exploration Promotion Corporation (MEPC), which will be funded by mining revenues, aims at developing the […]
Important budgetary cuts in Congo-Brazzaville. But where did the money go?
In the Republic of Congo, the PWYP coalition is campaigning for better management of natural resources by looking into the efficiency of public spending. To this end, it organises targeted actions to hold the government accountable and to involve citizens into the budgetary process. The President of the National Assembly rises solemnly. The microphone crackles […]
Sustainable development through community engagement: the case for the SDGs
The mineral resources of many developing countries have been viewed as a potential capital that can finance initiatives for sustainable development. However, in the Philippines, mining has never been an agent of development. Instead the decades-long operations of large-scale mining companies in the country have not made any noticeable dent on the fiscal health of […]
New mining code to unlock gold revenues for the future of Burkina Faso
By giving gold revenue back to the Burkinabe and by reducing tax breaks for mining companies in the country, the new mining code in Burkina Faso could secure a brighter and more sustainable future for many generations ahead. We, Mines Alerte Publish What You Pay Burkina Faso, have been campaigning tirelessly with other CSOs since […]
Accounting and Transparency Directives: key issues in transposition
The EU Accounting and Transparency Directives will require oil, gas, mining and logging companies to publish payments made to governments for access to natural resources. EU Member States have until 2015 to pass implementing legislation to bring payment reporting into law. In the UK, the Department of Business, Innovations and Skills (“BIS”) has adopted regulations […]
Natural resources and civic space: A perspective from the UN Special Rapporteur
Publish What You Pay (PWYP) and its members have noticed a worrisome trend in shrinking civic space as the cases of Niger, Myanmar and Azerbaijan have illustrated. As a response PWYP has been working with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights for Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association, Maina Kiai, on a recent […]
Our money is our responsibility
This blog is written by Lenneke Kono-Tange, Programme Officer Africa, Business Unit Extractives at Cordaid, and was originally posted on the Cordaid website. Ten years ago no average citizen had an idea about the public budget in Chad, due to the work of our partner organization GRAMPTC, this situation has changed. For the past ten […]
The EITI Process in Iraq: How do we move from transparency to accountability?
Iraq’s oil reserves are some of the highest in the world and the main sources of revenue for the Iraqi government. The country’s oil export policy has also been critical in defining international oil supply and pricing. By becoming an EITI compliant country in 2012, Iraq took steps in the right direction to ensure good […]
Of Corruption, the Constitution and (lack of) Consultation: the state of transparency in Niger
On Saturday June 6, 2015, members of the Réseau des Organisations de la Société Civile pour la Transparence et l’Analyse Budgetaire (ROTAB), or Publish What You Pay Niger, and thousands of Nigerien citizens took to the streets of Niamey to express their dissatisfaction with recent developments in the country. High prices at the pump and […]
PWYP Nigeria pushes President for reform in extractives
A new campaign by PWYP Nigeria, together with wider civil society in Nigeria, is urging new President Buhari to push through the long awaited Petroleum Industry Bill within his first 100 days in office. Despite being a resource rich country, Nigeria hasn’t benefited from a well-governed oil and gas sector but instead has been plagued […]