For many countries rich in oil, gas and minerals, development remains an elusive goal.
The rich get richer, the poor stay poor, inequality rises, economies stagnate, corruption flourishes
and conflict deepens. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has helped to
direct attention towards this sector, which has traditionally been shrouded in secrecy. It is one of
the international “soft law” tools supported by the international development community to
curb corruption and help resource-rich countries benefit from the revenues from their soil.
However, corruption indicators show that EITI countries are not really improving their scores.
Does this suggest that there should be a scaling down of expectations about what the EITI could
deliver or can it be made more effective? This paper highlights deficiencies in the way the EITI
works and makes recommendations that seek to increase the effectiveness of this initiative.
