Senegal's extractive sector is entering a phase of increasing transformation. However, its transparency mechanisms are struggling to keep pace and must necessarily accelerate. This was the strong message delivered by Thialy Faye, President of the National Committee of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (CN EITI), at the official launch of the "EITI Back-to-School" event this Thursday.

This event, now firmly established on the calendar, aims to become the platform for strategic dialogue between the government, extractive giants, and civil society. The objective is to mark a turning point in the management of mining and oil data, with the goal of streamlining production times and boosting reporting efficiency.

Despite the positive marks earned from international bodies in recent years, the EITI process in Senegal is not without its flaws. Repeated delays in the publication of reconciliation reports, technical challenges related to online reporting, and persistent misunderstandings about the process's requirements sometimes bring the system to a halt.

“These constraints have sometimes slowed down the collective momentum that should characterize our approach,” Thialy Faye acknowledged candidly. “In recent years, the implementation of the EITI process in Senegal has faced several difficulties. In particular, we have experienced repeated delays in the production of EITI reports, technical challenges related to online reporting, as well as misunderstandings regarding the deadlines and requirements of the process,” he added.

Faced with this situation and aware of its central role in promoting transparency in natural resource revenues, the time for the National EITI Committee is no longer for observation, but for action. It is precisely to address these challenges that the National EITI Committee has decided to prioritize "streamlining deadlines" and "improving the efficiency of the reporting and declaration process."

“Today’s meeting,” Mr. Faye emphasizes, “is part of this new direction. It aims to create a space for open, frank and inclusive dialogue between all stakeholders in order to identify bottlenecks and propose concrete solutions to improve our collective performance.”

Convinced that modern governance of natural resources relies on accessible, understandable and useful data for public decision-making, the chairman of the CN EITI encouraged "all stakeholders to go beyond minimum obligations by promoting the proactive publication of information, the opening of data and its reuse by researchers, the media and citizens".