According to an official from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives (EITI) implementation group in Myanmar, small scale mining firms are not likely to be included in the first report of EITI, which aims to promote transparency in the mining sector.
U Tin Thit from EITI Myanmar said, “There are weaknesses in record keeping and documents of small scale [mining] businesses. Therefore, all businesses will not be included in the report.”
A member of EITI from Sagaing region said that the small scale industries still do not understand EITI but the information from small-scale sites is still needed.
U Win Aung from EITI Myanmar said, “EITI Myanmar can hire technical support teams for the report. It is difficult to decide whether we should involve small-scale industries in the report or not.”
Excavation of oil, mineral and gem mining will be included in the first report specified by EITI implementation group, formed by employers, local organisations and the government organisations. The functions of EITI Myanmar will be developed with the consultation of an international technical support team.
UK-based Moore Stephens Company was hired to provide technical support for EITI Myanmar and signed the contract last month. Moore Stephens will provide technical support to EITI Myanmar for a fee of approximately $100,000.
Myanmar became a member of EITI in July last year and the first report is expected to be submitted in January 2016.
