President Says Ethiopia’s Membership to EITI Would Ensure Transparency

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Addis Ababa June 17/2014 Ethiopia’s membership to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) would help the country ensure transparency in the extractive industry, President Mulatu Teshome said.

Speaking in meeting organized in connection with the acceptance of its candidature application, the President said the country has been working to be member of the Initiative.

Establishing a 15-member steering committee consisting of representatives from the government, extractive companies, civil societies in 2002E.C was one of them, he said.

EITI has accepted Ethiopia’s candidature application in March 2014, considering the commitment of the government, he added.
Mines Minister Tolosa Shagi for his part said implementing the standards of the Initiative will consolidate the democratization process and ensure transparency.

According to the EITI Standard and transitional arrangements, the country must produce its first EITI Report within two years from becoming candidate and validation will start within three years.

Ethiopia has large untapped reserves of minerals that could help the country diversify its agriculture-centered economy. The country has reserves of gold, tantalum, potash, platinum and copper.

In 2010 the mining sector’s production value was less than one per cent of the GDP. In the 2013/14 fiscal year the nation is expecting 777 million USD from export revenues.

Gold is the main mineral export. Export values of gold reached 602 million USD in 2012, a more than hundred-fold increase from 2001. The largest gold mine is in Lege Dembi.
Several multinational mining companies are currently undertaking exploration in the country.

Small-scale mining is an important employer in Ethiopia. Approximately one million Ethiopians are directly engaged in artisanal mining activities.

Source: ENA