AfDB Supports Mozambique's EITI With U.S.$ 350, 000 Grant

8 October 2010
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African Development Bank (Abidjan)
press release

The African Development Bank (AfDB) will support Mozambique's efforts to improve its extractive industries operations following the signing of a U.S.$ 350,000 grant agreement by the two sides on Tuesday, 5 October 2010 in Maputo.

The agreement for the grant from Japan's bilateral support to the Bank through the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA) was jointly signed by Mozambique's planning and development minister, Aiuba Cuereneia, and the AfDB's Resident Representative in Mozambique. Alice Hamer. Japan's Ambassador to Mozambique, Susumu Segawa, also attended the signing ceremony.

The grant will finance 31% of the country's Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) activities aimed at improving the business environment and mitigating risks through greater transparency and accountability in the development and management of Extractive Industries (EI) operations. The World Bank and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) are also supporting the scheme.

The FAPA funds will be used to finance the preparation of the first EITI report on training and knowledge transfer activities, including the preparation of the validation report. Mozambique's bid to adhere to the initiative was launched in October, 2008, and reflects the country's efforts to improve governance in the extractive industry sector.

Speaking after the signing ceremony, Ms Alice Hamer urged the authorities to avoid the "resource curse" that still affects many African resource-rich countries. In response, Mr. Aiuba Cuereneia reiterated the government's commitment to use the allocated funds only to implement the EITI process and, most importantly, the design and submission of the validation report next year.

The EITI initiative was launched in Johannesburg in October 2002 during the "Sustainable Development World Summit" with the objective of improving transparency and accountability in extractive industries. Since its launch, the government has made important strides towards implementing the initiative, and Mozambique has until May 2011 to implement the validation report in order to become EITI compliant.

Contacts

Felix Njoku

Read the original article on African Development Bank (AfDB).

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