EARS for the Masses - Liberia Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (LEITI)

Local NGO on LEITI’s Awareness in Nimba
Publication Date: March 22, 2010 - 8:56pm
Updated: March 22, 2010 - 8:56pm
News Section:Community News

Mr. Aaron L. Dayee: ‘It is EARS for the Masses’ own way of helping to achieve LEITI’s effort’
By: Joaquin Sendolo
A local non-governmental organization, Effective Activities for the Restoration of Stability for the Masses (EARS for the Masses), has begun a massive awareness campaign in towns and villages in Nimba on the activities of the Liberia Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (LEITI).

LEITI is a non-governmental organization that is responsible for informing citizens of Liberia how much government receives from revenue generation and what they should benefit from their resources.

According to EARS for the Masses Executive Director Aaron Dayee, the decision to sensitize the locals on the activities of LEITI was due to the fact that LEITI’s presence had not fully been felt among people in the county.

Mr. Dayee, who walked into the offices of the Daily Observer last week, said it was important for citizens to be sensitized so that they would not feel that their resources were being freely taken away by some people without any benefit accruing to them (the citizens).

He said as an advocacy group that has been actively engaged in speaking for the voiceless, they as members see a need to create awareness so that people will know their rights and entitlement in terms of the available resources they have.

Mr. Dayee said because of the significance of LEITI to the Liberian populace, his outfit took the initiative to carry on the sensitization program.

He disclosed that they were carrying on the sensitization through sporting activities, quizzes among students and cultural exhibitions.

Mr. Dayee said his organization was in close partnership with the Foundation for International Dignity (FIND) and the Women in Peace-building Network (WIPNET) in the pre-awareness campaign for LEITI.

He added that after the awareness campaign, LEITI itself will be moving to the county to begin workshops with the locals in towns and villages to fully acquaint them with its activities as being done in other areas.

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Transparency program results 'dismal'

March. 9, 2010
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ShareWASHINGTON, March 9 (UPI) -- Participation has been "dismal" in an international program designed to show how nations profit from oil, gas and mining, human rights activists said.

Just two of 22 candidate countries met Tuesday's deadline to fulfill basic requirements for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Human Rights Watch said in a release.

Azerbaijan and Liberia met the filing deadline while Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe were among the countries that did not.

The lack of participation raises serious doubts about the commitment to disclose revenues, said Arvind Ganesan, a spokesman for Human Rights Watch.

"It's easy for governments to sign up for the initiative and claim they are open about the money they earn from lucrative natural resources," Ganesan said. "But the proof is in whether they actually do what they promised, and so far the results have been dismal."

The initiative, supported by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, was created to help combat corruption and mismanagement in energy-rich countries.


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