Resource Transparency Movement in Niger

=2010 Constitution=

In October 2010, over 90 percent of Nigeriens voted in favour of a new constitution that includes what Revenue Watch Institute described as "strong protections for transparency and development that, if enforced effectively, will bolster public oversight and the accountability of the country's crucial mineral and petroleum activities". In particular, Article 150 says that contracts for exploration and exploitation of Niger's natural resources, and any payments to the state, must be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Niger on a company-by-company, disaggregated basis. "Having these practices enshrined at a constitutional level is very powerful," said Revenue Watch Legal Advisor Patrick Heller, "It means that they must be published, and that this rule cannot be abrogated or changed without amending the constitution". As of March 2012, no natural resource contracts or revenue streams had been published online as a result of the consitution, although Abdul Aziz Askia, National Coordinator of EITI Niger said that the EITI Secretariat was already at work to ensure that all oil revenues are made public from 2012 onwards.

=EITI Process=

"Main article: EITI in Niger"

Niger was accepted as an Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Candidate Country on 27 September 2007, and was accepted by the EITI Board as EITI Compliant on 1 March 2011.

=Publish What You Pay=

Publish What You Pay (PWYP) work in Niger in association with Réseau des Organisations pour la Transparence et l'Analyse Budgétaire (ROTAB). The PWYP ROTAB coalition’s monthly bulletin reports on the state of transparency in the extractive industries in Niger.

=Transparency International=

Transparency International's National Chapter in Niger is represented by the Association Nigérienne de Lutte Contre la Corruption (ANLC). ANLC is a non-political, non-religious and non-profit organisation created in 2001 and became accredited as the Transparency International National Chapter in 2006.

=References=