West Africa is generally rich in natural resources. Resources such as oil, phosphates, bauxite, wood, gold, iron ore, uranium, diamonds, timber and rivers for hydropower exist in many countries, but a combination of autocratic and unaccountable government, violent conflict throughout the continent and decades of mismanagement deprive the region and its people of the benefits from its natural resources.

There has been recent progress in democracy and human rights which offers new hope for reversing the region’s underdevelopment, unequal distribution of wealth, access problems, unprofessional and ill-equipped public service, social inequality and widespread poverty, but entrenched corruption buoyed by institutional weaknesses and poor oversight pose serial threats to the gains.

In the past, OSIWA, through its Economic Governance program, has supported initiatives to to raise awareness about the rights of citizens in order to take part in decisions affecting the management of natural resources of the country. Through a combination of support for capacity building and advocacy OSIWA support contributed to creating an empowered citizenry capable of demanding for transparency and holding government officials to account in management and allocation of natural resources and revenue flows. Interventions to strengthen budget advocacy, track resource revenues, establish important normative frameworks for transparency and accountability and citizens’ participation have all created important resource for systematic transformation of governance challenges in the region.

OSIWA will seek to improve equity and transparency with the hope that this will enable citizens to benefit better from their countries’ resources. OSIWA work therefore aims to strongly support PWYP/EITI campaign to develop a regional strategy for the promotion of transparency and good governance in the management of natural resource revenues which could efficiently alleviate poverty and bring stability in the region. Additionally, it will support initiatives to promote Accountability and Transparency in extractive industry in West Africa, especially the focal countries, by advocating and building capacity of civil society and other local actors (media, parliament, and communities) and institutions to influence national, regional and international policies necessary to transform resource revenues into catalyst for economic development and social cohesion and human capital development. The expected output from these activities are (i) a regional PWYP/EITI network/dialogue mechanisms; functional national PWYP/EITI coalitions a cluster of informed civil society advocates and activists with specialized skills that are able to engage in policy level discussions/advocacy in national budget, petroleum economy, resource contracts and a regional communication strategy developed. The foundation will also seek to build the capacity and accountability of anti-corruption commissions.

Using the mass media and community radio, alternative media and social networks - twitter, facebook, myspace, etc, the Economic governance programme will embark on a public education and enlightenment programme to complement other civil society-led initiatives to mobilize the people at the community and local government levels for direct participation in formulation, implementation and monitoring of economic reform programmes. It will seek to build capacity of the legislature and civil society organizations on budget monitoring and tax justice..

In Nigeria, OSIWA will also work to strengthen CSOs’ capacity to use fiscal rules and regulations to promote accountable management of public resources in Nigeria. The foundation’s prior support in this area precipitated some reforms and new laws at the federal and sub-national levels. However, civil society remains an ineffective watchdog and needs to build its capacity to deter unethical behavior. OSIWA will support efforts to build and disseminate knowledge, strengthen civil society coalitions and advocate for changes in the policy and administrative structures that govern natural resource management. It will seek to work with the Nigerian Civil Society Network on Budget and other similar networks to organize Civil Society, World Bank/IMF dialogues on the budget; publish the ABC of the budget process in collaboration with the BMPI unit; monitor revenue mobilization tribunals set up by government to police agencies that are supposed to make returns to the government.  OSIWA will also seek to deepen the skills of the Nigerian Civil Society Coalition Network on the Budget by liaising with professional organizations such as the Nigerian Economic Society, Institute for Chartered Accountants, the Lagos Business School. OSIWA will work towards enforcing the 1999 Constitution which makes provision for grassroots involvement in national economic planning and formulation.  Putting in place an effective framework for grassroots civil society involvement in the budget process will require the effective mobilization of community development associations.  The use of town hall meetings as a platform for this mobilization is more popular and convenient.

In Liberia, where the democratic transition is not yet secure, OSIWA will work to strengthen governance and rule of law in the face of widespread corruption and impunity and lack of institutional capacity. Given the role that natural resources played in the civil war, OSIWA will also build on its past work with the Publish What You Pay Coalition, which it helped establish in Liberia, to demand accountability in the management of national resources. It will assist the public information and education unit of the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission in raising awareness and fostering public participation in its work. It will help build the capacity of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission and advocate for reforms. There are several legitimate procedural obstacles, including deficiencies in the LACC’s Establishing Act that need to be addressed. Much of the transparency work that OSIWA will engage in  Liberia will focus on the education sector.

In Sierra Leone, to strengthen transparency and accountability in economic resource management, OSIWA will work with current partners to develop their capacity to analyze current arrangements for the distribution of national wealth (including the recently passed Mining Law) and develop policies to ensure that citizens benefit equitably. Such programs will build on OSIWA’s prior support for democratic institutions and processes in Sierra Leone. While the mandates of the Anti-Corruption Commission, National Public Procurement Authority and other similar institutions are laudable, their achievements often fall short due to political influence, human resource capacity and inadequate engagement with civil society.

In Guinea, OSIWA will advocate for and support the enactment of laws to combat corruption, improve management of public resources, including implementation of EITI and review of important public financial management rules and procedures, and safeguard freedom of information and expression. It will promote the involvement of citizens in processes governing the exploration and exploitation of natural resources as well as the distribution of their proceeds- through target budget work and campaign for economic and socio-cultural rights and support for key regulatory and oversight authorities.

In Senegal, OSIWA will seek to help reinforce the capacity of parliamentarians to control the implementation of the national budget and to ensure the enforcement of anti-corruption laws. The foundation will also work to promote parliamentary oversight and to advocate for their enforcement at the legislative level. To strengthen effective delivery of public services, OSIWA will focus on the education sector, on which the government claims to spend 40 percent of the national budget. The foundation will work to strengthen transparency and accountability in managing these funds by supporting citizen oversight and improving access to information. To curtail corruption and impunity and improve management of resources, OSIWA will work with a coalition of CSOs in Senegal to advocate for the enforcement of laws governing fiscal accountability in public procurement and independent anti-corruption agencies. These efforts will involve monitoring policy implementation in selected sectors (including education) and using strategic litigation to capitalize on provisions of UEMOA. To expand access to public information, an essential step in establishing accountable and democratic governance, the foundation will work with civil society to advocate for a freedom of information law.

In Niger, the foundation will also use its institutional credibility and access to decision makers in Niger to help develop comprehensive policies that ensure transparency and accountability in the management of uranium, the nation’s most valuable natural resource. This work will emphasize the involvement of citizens, especially host communities, every step of the way — from exploration to extraction to the distribution of proceeds. In 2012 OSIWA will support advocacy to promote adoption of these new policies. This work will build on the foundation’s earlier support to civil society organizations tracking the management of natural resources and demanding accountability from government.