Impact Evaluation of Transparency and Accountability Initiatives on the Extractives Industry

March 6th, 2015.
Faculdade de Economia da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane.
Maputo, Mozambique.

Organizers

Funding

On the 6th of March, NOVAFRICA (Mozambique) in partnership with Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique) and University of Navarra (Spain) organized a workshop on Transparency and Accountability Initiatives on the Extractives Industry in Mozambique.

The workshop was carried as a prospective initiative for the design of a new research project on the impact of transparency policies on the natural resources exploration.

The event’s main objective was to gather information and promote discussion on the current situation of natural resources in Mozambique, focusing on the perspectives for natural gas exploration on the Rovuma Bay.

Participants were experts from the government, multinational extractive companies, civil society organizations and national NGOs.

Opening notes were delivered by Professor Manoela Sylvestre, dean of the Faculty of Economics of Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), and Professor António Cruz, director of the Centre for Research in Economics and Management of UEM.

The workshop was divided in two main sessions.

The morning session was devoted to the presentation of methodology for impact evaluation, conducted by Professor Pedro Vicente and Inês Vilela, from NOVAFRICA and Nova School of Business and Economics (Nova SBE) – see the presentation here.

This session was also opened to economics students from UEM.

The afternoon session began with a macroeconomic overview of the current state of the natural resources exploration in the country, presented by Dra. Vanda Castelo, Ministry of the Economy and Finance (MEF). This presentation served as introduction for the discussion that followed.

In the final session, Professors António Cruz and Pedro Vicente moderated a round table discussion on possible initiatives to promote a more transparent environment in the sector. Participants in the round table included representatives from Anadarko Company, Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), MEF, Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, A Verdade newspaper, Institute of Social and Economic Studies (IESE), and National Institute of Oil (INP).

For further information, see the Program below.

The workshop was crucial to explore potential institutional partnerships which will allow to identify and evaluate the impact of transparency and accountability initiatives in Mozambique.

Overall, the workshop was a perfect opportunity for policy-makers to engage in a healthy discussion on such a controversial topic in developing countries: how to use the discovery of natural resources in favour of a country’s economic development and guarantee that its benefits reach all citizens.

Program

Please find the list of Roundtable Participants here.