Governor for Eastern Highlands Province Hon Peter Numu has given his full support for the establishment of the Extractive Industries Transparency Commission. Governor Numu opened the lower Highlands Consultation workshop on the PNG Extractive Industries Transparency Commission Bill in Goroka on Monday, September 6th, 2021. He welcomed the State legal and policy officials from key government departments, Department of Petroleum and Energy, Department of Treasury, Constitutional and Law Reform Commission, National Economic and Fiscal Commission, Internal Revenue Commission, including Provincial administration key representatives from Western Highlands, Jiwaka, Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, and the PNGEITI staff who gathered in Goroka for the week-long consultation. “As the Governor of Eastern Highlands Province, I am in support of transparency and accountability in the extractive sector. “The government must be accountable and it must make sure the developer is transparent in the extraction of our natural resources,” he said. “Our government recognises the need to have transparency and visibility of revenue received from the extractive projects and other sectors in the country particularly in our province. “We also acknowledge the importance of having factual data from the sector to ensure we are able to make informed decisions in the governance of the sector. He added that Eastern Highlands Province contributes significantly to the economy of the country through coffee production and exports. The province is a major coffee producer and from coffee exports revenue is generated for the country, while local farmers benefit directly from selling their coffee produce. “The province also hosts the K92 Mine located in the Kainantu District, that started four years ago. The company K92 Mine Ltd paid K25 million to the government last year, given the tough economic times and is looking at a promising future for the province,” he said. “Our government also recognises the importance of supporting the work of the PNGEITI in transitioning to an independent entity as proposed ‘Commission’ to fully implement the EITI requirements and best practice Standards that PNG has signed up to implement for our benefit. “We look forward to providing our comments and views on the proposed PNGEITI Commission Law and work in close consultation with the PNGEITI as it promotes good governance, accountability and transparency in the resources sector. He acknowledged the National Secretariat’s leadership and the government agencies for their participation and contribution to drafting of the Commission law and the consultation process and reiterated that consultation is the way forward as it captures our people’s views in framing this important legislative requirement. Photo caption: Eastern Highlands Governor Hon Peter Numu (seated third from left) with stakeholder representatives from provinces Western Highlands, Chimbu, and Eastern Highlands including the State legal and policy officials and the National Secretariat staff at the Bird of Paradise Hotel after he officially opened the lower highlands regional consultation on the PNGEITI Commission Bill.

PRESS RELEASE: 02nd August, 2021,LAE, MOROBE PROVINCE MAKE ALL TRANSACTIONS IN MINING AND PETROLEUM VALUE CHAIN TRANSPARENT: GINSON SAONU Morobe Governor and Deputy leader of the ruling Pangu Pati Hon Ginson Saonu today opened the PNG Extractive Industries Transparency Commission Bill Momase Regional consultation in Lae and gave his backing for the establishment of the Extractive Industries Transparency Commission. He welcomed a State Technical working group comprising the Department of Petroleum, Department of National Planning, Constitutional and Law Reform Commission, Department of Treasury and staff from the PNGEITI National Secretariat to administer the consultation. The Governor underscored the importance of reflecting the national goals and directives enshrined in the Constitution in making policies and laws that govern the resource sector. The Momase consultation is the second leg of a series of regional consultation to gauge views from stakeholders to shape a bill that is reflective of views from wider community for better implementation of EITI Global Standard in Papa New Guinea. Consultation workshop starts today and ends on Thursday this week. The implementation of EITI Principles and the Standard in Papua New Guinea rides on a National Executive Council Decision administered by as a secretariat under the Department of Treasury. The proposed law aims to establish the PNGEITI National Secretariat as a commission to provide policy recommendations to the Government and more so provide a clear description of activities taking place in the PNG mining and petroleum industry. Deputy Head of PNGEITI National Secretariat Christopher Tabel thanked the Governor for opening the workshop which is the second of regional consultation rolled out and will continue to two other regions. “The PNGEITI is a state initiative and it’s only fitting and delightful moment for the state working group on the legislation and the instrumentalities involved in the process to have a Governor of existing and upcoming resource projects of huge magnitude. “PNGEITI has been in operation since 2014 effected by a NEC decision and now we are moving into the next step in anchoring this extractive industry reporting process into PNG’s legal and administrative system. PNGEITI has published 7 country reports detailing activities taking placing in the PNG mining and petroleum space. “We thank the Morobe Governor and his hardworking administration team for the support and the welcome that we have received from Morobe. We look forward to a meaningful consultation in the coming days with all stakeholders from Government, Civil Society organizations and resource companies,’’ Mr. Tabel said. ENDS… Image Caption: Morobe Governor Hon Ginson Saonu (third from left) with stakeholder representatives from Provinces East and West Sepik, Madang and Morobe Provincial administration including the State legal and policy officials and the National Secretariat staff at the Lae International Hotel after he officially opened the PNGEIT Commission Bill Momase Regional consultation.

 The Government of Papua New Guinea has moved in the direction of taking transparency and accountability within the mining, oil and gas sectors seriously. Since 2014, the PNG Government has demonstrated its commitment to implementing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) through the publication of seven reports in compliance with the requirements of the international best practice Standards reporting. The PNGEITI National Secretariat under the Department of Treasury, coordinates a tripartite Multi-Stakeholder Group consisting of key Government agencies, mining and petroleum companies and civil society organisations for oversight and guidance in the publication process of the EITI Reports. Papua New Guinea is among 53 countries that promotes transparency and accountability in the mining and petroleum space through the EITI Reporting process. We are pleased to inform the general public that substantiative work has been undertaken to anchor the Global EITI Reporting Standard and practices into PNG laws, taking into account local practices and the operating environment. This legislation process is consistent with the Government’s National Policy Framework on Transparency and Accountability adopted in NEC Decision NO. 80/2019. The proposal to enact into law a transparency commission, is to provide the legal basis to administer and coordinate the publication of the EITI Reports, and its operation as an entity to coordinate implementation of the EITI Standards in the country. The commission has been proposed to be named as the Extractive Industries Transparency Commission (EIT Commission). As part of a nationwide consultation on a draft (EIT Commission Bill), a technical team comprising experts from key Government departments will be conducting a consultation on the draft PNG EIT Commission Bill to ensure the proposed legal set-up of this transparency commission adequately reflects the views from all stakeholders as required in this legislative process. This consultation will take into consideration other extractive sectors to include forestry, fisheries and agriculture. The public, especially the stakeholders in the extractive sector (oil, gas, mining, fisheries, forestry and agriculture) are invited to meaningfully participate in this important consultation at the respective venues and dates as set out in the schedule shown on the picture. AUTHORIZED BY LUCAS ALKAN HEAD OF PNGEITI NATIONAL SECRETARIAT