The World Bank’s Senior Financial Sector Specialist, Cari Votava has urged government officials and industry professionals to improve transparency in the country’s extractive and natural resource sectors to identify and document the beneficial ownership of those operating in the sector. This, she said, will contribute immensely to the economy of the country.
Speaking at her book launch in Accra, titled, License to Drill, Cari Votava noted, that corruption in management and governance is particularly challenging and difficult to mitigate especially in weak regulatory governance. She indicated that,” it is relevant for the public to know the Beneficial Owners and Political Exposed Persons, behind companies that seek licenses to operate in the country.
Also book seeks to contribute to the efforts of officials to identify and implement good practices to reduce corruption risks.”she added
The book serves as a manual on Integrity Due Diligence for licensing in Extractive Sectors. Stakeholders in the extractive industry are demanding transparency in the mining sector as established in the oil and gas sector. While the oil sector has regulations that ensure accountability and openness in licensing, local content and revenue management, little can be said of the mining sector. The Australian Ambassador Andrew Barnes said issues pertaining to the extractive sector are very important to all countries.
Meanwhile, Corruption presents a major challenge to the World Bank goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030. Studies show that, a notable portion of illicit financial flows are generated through highly regulated sectors such as the extractive sector.
Although Ghana has already amended the company’s code to ensure the disclosure of beneficial ownership becomes mandatory, experts are of the view that the book gives practical details on the hows.
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