Transparency and Accountability in Energy and Extractive Industries in Kazakhstan Dinara Pogodina, Transparency &Accountability Program Coordinator OSF Eurasia Network Strategy Convening on Good Governance, and Transparency and Accountability Budva, Montenegro, November 19 – 20, 2014 AzerbaijanMSG

Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan Transparency & Accountability program Overview  Since 2004 Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan has maintained a leading position in the sphere of promoting transparent, accountable and efficient governance of public finances in Kazakhstan in its role of a broker between the government, the extractive companies and the civil society;  The Foundation formulates an agenda for implementation and further development of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Kazakhstan by participating (as an observer) in the National Stakeholders Council and by being a major donor organization funding civil society involvement in EITI

Historical Overview Program priorities Raising competence of media to report on budgetary issues 2. Distribution of Caspian Oil Windfalls report and raising public awareness 3.Raising competence of parliament to be more active in budgetary process 4. Raising NGO activism 1.Advocacy and policy making 2. Raising public awareness and activism 3. Promotion of the freedom of speech and raising competence of media 4. Raising NGO activism and strengthening NGO capacity 5. Analysis and research 1. Promoting revenue transparency 2. Analysis of the government’s long- term economic policy and investment strategies 3.Initiating public debates via Open Forums 1. Support EITI implementation in Kazakhstan 2. Build up capacity of civil society organizations involved in the revenue monitoring process 3.Enhance civic awareness and involve the general public in the revenue monitoring and management processes 4. Promote effective cooperation among civil society organizations, government authorities, and the business community 5. Support implementation of best practices in public administration and corporate governance 1.Access to publicly important information in the extractive industry contracts. 2.Partnerships between the Government, extractive companies and civil society to ensure sustainable development 3. Further development of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Kazakhstan 1. Transparency of extractive industry contracts 2. Developing partnerships between the authorities, extractive companies and civil society 3. Supporting EITI implementation 4. Increasing the transparency and efficiency of public finance management 5. Developing partnerships between NGOs and the Government to increase the efficiency of public programs 6. Increasing the transparency of NGOs involved in monitoring of public finance

Current Activities  The Foundation continues to support the EITI implementation projects  Pilot assessment of governance of the electricity sector of Kazakhstan is made in accordance to the Electricity Governance Initiative (EGI) methodology and a blueprint for raising transparency and accountability in the sector is developed

Mission, Strategic priorities, Objectives and Tasks in 2015  The changes in EITI standard have strengthened the idea of urgent necessity in implementation of the transparency and good governance principles at subnational level. Though it is 10 years of EITI activities launched in Kazakhstan, the extractive areas are not fully involved in active participation, and internal contradictions and conflicts within civil society are hindering its consolidation and are considerably reducing the efficiency of past campaigns.  The program’s main focus will be the capacity building and promoting principles of good governance among civil society organizations and involve the general public in the revenue monitoring and management processes.  There are also relatively few donors funding initiatives in the sphere of revenue / budget transparency in Kazakhstan (compared to interest in this topic in other countries and regions). Thus the identification and the consequent strengthening new strategic partners in remote regions and fundraising will be the key objectives and tasks of the program.

Existing Obstacles  Internal contradictions and conflicts within civil society  Low expert and organizational capacity of budget monitoring NGOs  Low level of awareness of the initiative in remote regions

New opportunities  The EITI Compliant Country status of Kazakhstan present opportunities to deepen and expand this initiative further and to prompt the emergence of new initiatives that supplement the EITI  The Government currently regards the Open Budget Index (OBI), as one of the indicators to judge competitiveness and investment attractiveness of Kazakhstan  The Republic of Kazakhstan Subsoil and Subsoil use code present opportunities to establish the transparency and accountability principles at legislative level

Recommendations  Increase the awareness and expand the horizons: public discussions in remote regions  Engagement means far more than just signing up and disclosing information – there should be more champions within the industry

Thank you!