The Executive Director of Papua New Guinea Extractive Industries Transparency (PNGEITI), George Kauli has announced that PNG will be validated for the third time since it signed up to implement the EITI global best practice Standard in 2013.
Mr. Kauli when announcing the country’s EITI Validation set for April 1, 2026 said there has been recent efforts focused on closing gaps in data accessibility, strengthening Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) functions and addressing 2022 Validation Corrective Actions to enhance transparency in the extractive sector.
Mr. Kauli explained that validation is an essential feature of the EITI implementation process intended to provide stakeholders with an impartial assessment of whether EITI implementation in a country is consistent with the EITI Standard.
PNG underwent its first validation in 2018 where the EITI Board granted ‘meaningful progress’ in implementing the EITI Standard. The Board commended PNG’s efforts in implementing several reforms to address weaknesses in government systems and in improving the level of transparency in the country’s extractive sector.
In the 2022 Validation, PNG scored a moderate 70.5% which it now aims to improve in the coming third Validation. Mr. Kauli expressed concern that failure to make considerable improvements in keyareas such as addressing outstanding corrective actions from 2022, improving MSG functions, and adopting new requirements under the revised 2023 EITI Standard, including energy transition, gender and anti-corruption could result in serious consequences for PNG such as suspension from EITI in accordance with the EITI Standard.
However, Mr. Kauli is optimistic that improved ranking in this year’s Validation would mean a positive image for the country, especially at this time when PNG is set to be grey-listed by the Financial Action Task Force.
Certain areas in the activities of EITI can have positive impact on the grey listing status of PNG, and Beneficial Ownership disclosure is one area where FATF recommendations and ElTI standards overlap and this can help PNG come out of the grey-list status.
Meanwhile, the EITI International Secretariat (IS) Validation Lead, Riley Zecca has invited Stakeholders to contact the IS with any comments and concerns regarding EITI implementation in Papua New Guinea. The EITI International Secretariat is seeking stakeholder views on PNG’s progress in implementing the EITI Standard between November 2022 and April 2026. Stakeholders can check www.eiti.org for the Papua New Guinea 2026 EITI Validation: call for views on stakeholder engagement to participate.
