The World Bank's Latin America and Caribbean Region (LCR) recently joined an important workshop, in Bogotá, Colombia, entitled Parliaments and Extractive Industries; How to Improve Oversight and Increase Collaboration. The event brought together parliamentarians from South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, among others) to discuss their role in the management of natural resources in their respective countries and how to improve the oversight of extractive industries and while ensuring that the growth generated from them serves long-term development goals.
The workshop was sponsored by ParlAmericas, a regional group based in Canada. The objective was to consider specific legislative examples with respect to extractive industries, and through debate discussions with experts, share knowledge and identify the main issues to define a regional approach to the supervision of the extractive sector in South America. Topics of discussion included: (i) Introduction to Extractives Industries in South America, (ii) Reviews of Relevant Laws and Legislation and the Right to Consultation, (iii) Transparency for Contracts and Tax Regimes and (iv) the Role of Parliaments. Working groups provided recommendations and ParlAmericas will be following up with members on their implementation.
Along with experts from Revenue Watch, The Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL), in attendance for the Bank was Lisa Bhansali, Regional Adviser for Governance & Anti-corruption (LCSOS).
