EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES
Parliamentarians discussed proposals to strengthen parliamentary oversight of extractive industries during a seminar in October 2012.
Parliamentary strengthening
9. Parliaments should be provided with the information and the resourc- es necessary for effective oversight, including where possible the provi- sion of expert technical advice. 10. Parliaments, parliamentary com- mittees and individual Parliamentar- ians should work with civil society groups, both local and international, to obtain information and expert advice on the operations of resource projects, the effectiveness of their regulation and the monitoring of revenues. 11. Parliament should consider sup- porting or encouraging the creation of multi-stakeholder groups, possibly including some Parliamentarians, to give civil society a formal role in monitoring extractive industries. 12. Parliament must maintain the highest standards of propriety among its Members through strict adher- ence to codes of conduct, codes of ethics and asset disclosure rules so its performance in the oversight of extractive industries is beyond reproach. 13. Parliament must make full and effective use of all its oversight prac-
tices and procedures to monitor the performance of extractive industries, including: public accounts and audit reviews, approval of the budget, questions to Ministers, departmentally related committee reviews, requests for the production by ministries of persons and papers, special parlia- mentary committee inquiries and debates on policies and motions.
Overseeing the beneficial use of revenues
14. Government must report to Parliament fully on its use of the rev- enues and in-kind benefits, including social development projects, received from extractive industries. 15. Parliamentary budget scrutiny should ensure that public expenditure levels distribute the benefits from extractive industries sustainably over time to avoid excessive short-term spending when revenues are high and excessive borrowing when rev- enues are low and to retain equitable benefits for future generations. 16. The revenues from resource as- sets should be used to finance social and infrastructure development, economic diversification and the
development of human resources to help reduce future dependence on revenues from extractive industries.
The Parliamentarians offer these
proposals to assist Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the World Bank Institute, the International Monetary Fund, the Revenue Watch Institute, the Parliamentary Centre and the wider global community to address the issues around the development of extractive industries. They recognize that the
responses to the issues will vary in each jurisdiction to reflect local circumstances. However, the Parliamentarians see great advantages in strengthening parliamentary oversight of the development of publicly owned natural resources and suggest that Parliaments consider the proposals to increase transparency and public confidence in this sector. The participating Parliamentarians
and organizations extend their thanks to the Joint Vienna Institute for facilitating the seminar.
Parliamentary Participants
• Mrs Lisa France, MP, Assistant Minister for Natural Resources and Mines, Queensland • Hon. Norman Frederick Moore, MLC, Minister for Mines and Pe- troleum; Fisheries; Electoral Affairs, Western Australia • Mr Anisul Islam Mondal, MP, Bangladesh • Ms Donna Kennedy-Glans, MLA, Chair of the Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship, Alberta • Mr Rob Norris, MLA, Legislative Secretary to the Premier, Saskat- chewan • Hon. Albert Kan-Dapaah, MP, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Ghana • Shri Pinaki Misra, MP, India • Shri Dhananjay Singh, MP, India • Hon. Sani Ibrahim Ruwan Doruwa, MHR, Nigeria • Hon. Dr Roodal Moonilal, MP, Minister of Housing, Lands and Marine Resource and Leader of the House, Trinidad and Tobago • Hon. Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda, MP, Uganda • Mr Ambrose L. Lufuma, MP, Zambia.
The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue One | 39
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