Introduction to MEITI
The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is a global standard for transparency and accountability in the oil, gas and mining industries. In July 2014 Myanmar became an EITI candidate country, joining the 48 countries which have signed up to the initiative. Under EITI, governments publish what they receive from extractive companies and companies publish what they pay to governments. These figures are reconciled in an annual public report, together with contextual information relating to a range of natural resource governance issues in the country. The EITI process is overseen and implemented by a multi-stakeholder group (MSG) of government, companies and civil society. Myanmar produced its first EITI report in December 2015. In mid-2014 the Myanmar MSG agreed a 3-year work plan of activities. The work plan constituted one of the sign-up steps necessary to obtain EITI candidate status and remains the essential road map for EITI implementation. The World Bank provided $290,000 to support the first stages of work plan implementation during 2015 and will provide a US$ 3.5 million grant from the Myanmar Partnership Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MP MDTF) was agreed to support the continued implementation of the MEITI Work plan from 2016 to 2019.
In early 2015, a National MEITI Office within MOPF to support the implementation of EITI in Myanmar was established in the Fiscal Policy, Strategy and EITI Team of the Ministry of Finance (now the Ministry of Planning and Finance). The MEITI Office, Budget Department (MOBD) is staffed by personnel from the Ministry of Planning and Finance, and is overseen by and reports to the MSG.
On 19 December 2016, the Union Government formally appointed the Myanmar EITI Leading Committee composed of the Union Minister of Planning and Finance (MOPF) as Chair, the Union Minister for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Conservation and the Union Minister of Energy and Electricity as members, and the Deputy Minister of MOPF as Secretary. The Renaissance Institute was designated as the MEITI National Coordination Secretariat.
A new MEITI Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) was set up on 23 March 2017, comprising 7 Government representatives, 7 private sector representatives and 9 civil society representatives.
On 7 March 2017, the EITI International Board approved MEITI's request for setting 31 March 2018 as the deadline for the publication of its second EITI Report, and 1 July 2018 as the commencement date for Validation.
On 30 March 2018, Myanmar produced its second and third EITI reports which represent 2014-15 and 2015-16 fiscal years and those reports were published in MEITI website and submitted the International EITI secretariat also with the approval of Myanmar MEITI Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) in 13th MSG meeting. After producing those reports, MEITI-MSG and other MEITI implementation bodies were continuously implementing the EITI processes together with the recommendations being described in produced reports and Myanmar is leading to be a complaint country while implementing MEITI work plan and reform activities with the motto of “Report to Reforms”.