Corruption Watch (CW) will host a webinar on Tuesday 22 November 2022 to coincide with the release of two reports advancing a case for greater beneficial ownership transparency (BOT) in the mining sector, namely Beneficial Ownership Transparency in South Africa’s mining sector and The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and South Africa, respectively.
The importance of BOT in South Africa has come increasingly into focus and it is clear that it cannot be simply ignored, but is a vital component in the fight against financial crime. With this in mind South Africa has made significant progress on BOT, and currently has legislative proposals to create a legal obligation to report beneficial ownership. This report sets out why BOT is important to South Africa, the international context and drivers of BOT, and provides an analysis of the current status quo in South Africa.
However, for meaningful change to occur the report makes six recommendations, including the implementation by government of a beneficial ownership regime that meets international best practice, and a strategic communications campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of BOT, especially for the private sector. Its recommendations extend to the government, Corruption Watch and its advocacy efforts with other civil society players, the private sector, and other stakeholders in the BOT agenda in the country.
South Africa has always been a compelling target for membership of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), and there have been regular attempts by the EITI international secretariat to encourage the country to become a candidate. The EITI report makes a strong case for South Africa to join EITI, given its influence on the continent, and its potential to be a catalyst for other African nations to join too, thus raising the level of transparency and governance in the extractives sector in Africa more broadly.
The EITI conveys credibility and reputational assurance to companies seeking to operate according to international standards.
The webinar, which will unpack more details from both reports, will take place as follows:
Date: 22 November 2022
Time: 11h00 – 12h00
Registration link: https://event.webinarjam.com/register/78/l8m3xc6q
For media enquiries contact:
Oteng Makgotlwe
Cell: 076 473 8336 E-mail: OtengM@corruptionwatch.org.za
