While PWYP welcomes the guide, its recommendations are non-binding and implementation is voluntary. How the IMF will prompt governments to adhere to the guide “Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency” is also unclear.

Good public financial management is at the core of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) aims, but this is not possible in resource revenue-dependent countries where revenue streams are kept secret. Lack of transparency makes possible corruption, which undermines the stable and sustainable financial management that the Fund is seeking to promote.

To make it easier, faster and simpler for your organisation to support Publish What You Pay‘s (PWYP) efforts to improve the IMF’s draft “Guide on Resource Revenue Transparency [PDFver here] ,” a one-page template has been drafted providing the option for PWYP members – who are stretched for time and capacity – to copy the text and then send it to the IMF as their own submission.

Several organisations have requested this template so they can support the most important issues and suggestions raised in the PWYP briefing that was distributed earlier (see: www.publishwhatyoupay.org/english/imfguidebriefing.shtml). Besides, the deadline for comments is not far away (Friday, February 18) and the draft guide is a rather large and technical document so we hope that this makes life much, much easier for you!

On the links below you will find the template, available in several different language versions. Simply add your organisation’s logo, date, your name, any other signatures, and then e-mail the document to the IMF at the following address: rrt@imf.org. Please make sure to copy in coordinator@publishwhatyoupay.org.

English template: http://www.publishwhatyoupay.org/english/template.shtml
French template: www.publishwhatyoupay.org/english/template_fr.shtml
Russian template: www.publishwhatyoupay.org/english/template_ru.shtml

The more letters submitted to the IMF, the more powerful it will be. Again, for any further assistance do not hesitate to contact myself or other members of the PWYP coalition:

Henry Parham
Coordinator, Publish What You Pay
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7031 0204, coordinator@publishwhatyoupay.org

Gavin Hayman, Global Witness
Tel: +44 20 7561 6361, ghayman@globalwitness.org

Nikki Reisch, Bank Information Center (in English or French):
Tel: +1 202 624 0635, nreisch@bicusa.org

Arvind Ganesan, Human Rights Watch
Tel: +1 202 612 4329, ganesaa@hrw.org

For more background information on the International Financial Institutions and extractive industries transparency, see the following briefing from the Bank Information Center (November 2004): www.publishwhatyoupay.org/english/pdf/ifis_brief_revenue_transparency.pdf

The Publish What You Pay (PWYP) coalition of over 250 NGOs worldwide calls for the mandatory disclosure of the payments made by oil, gas and mining companies to all governments for the extraction of natural resources. PWYP considers this a necessary first step toward a more accountable system for the management of revenues in resource-rich developing countries.

Publish What You Pay, February 1, 2005