Civil society actors fighting for better resource governance must engage with reformers in government and business and speak “truth to power” with those parties hampering progress, NRGI president and CEO Daniel Kaufmann tells RAW Talks, a web series that interviews thought leaders on extractives matters.
In a wide-ranging conversation, Kaufmann outlines the work of international nongovernmental organizations in ensuring progress and highlights the importance of involvement from groups representing the rights of indigenous groups and promoting local concerns.
Kaufmann also emphasizes the importance of collaboration to ensure good resource governance, highlighting the roles of government officials, private sector companies and citizens to ensure progress and sustainability.
The interaction between the three groups is “absolutely key,” Kaufmann says.
Kaufmann provides insight and perspective on: corruption and the obstacles to fighting it; struggles civil society face; the importance of mandatory disclosure of payments from companies to governments; and global movements for change such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
“Fifteen years ago, the whole notion of governance was very much outside of economics, very much outside anything that could be considered measurable,” Kaufmann says. “We challenged that.”
He talks about regional disparities: Chile, Colombia and Peru have made significant governance gains, while Brazil and Venezuela have suffered significant setbacks.
“What is needed,” Kaufmann says, “is to look at the whole of governance and institutional systems, and in every country it will be different.”