LEITI Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative was established on May 7, 2007, by the Government of Liberia. The membership of the steering group includes the Governement, Civil Society Groups, The Private Sector, and Development Partners.

The development of mineral and forest resources has long been a vital component of economic development in Liberia. The country is rich in a variety of resources including iron ore, gold, diamonds and forest products. The offshore continental shelf also holds the prospect of oil and gas resources. The extractive industries are likely to continue to be a major source of foreign investment, government revenues, and export revenues, and as such have considerable potential to play an important role in Liberia's future development. Unfortunately, in the past revenues from the extractive sector have, far from contributing to development, been used to fuel corruption and conflict.

The Government of Liberia is committed to developing an extractive industries sector which is grounded in transparency and accountability in both the allocation and the exploitation of these natural resources. Only by doing this can the country be sure of maximizing the development impact of the sector, and ensuring that mineral revenues are not used for the destructive purposes as they have been in the past. The mineral and forestry wealth of Liberia must be used for the development of all, not for the personal benefit of a few. With this in mind the Government of Liberia has decided that committing to and implementing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) will be an important foundation for achieving transparency and accountability in the sector.

The EITI is a voluntary global compact for improving transparency in countries that are dependent on extractive industries. In joining the EITI the Government of Liberia is following the now more than twenty countries already implementing the Initiative. These countries recognize the importance of providing clear and independently verified information on how natural resource rights are allocated; what extractive industry companies are paying to governments; and what governments receive from those companies. More...