VZCZCXRO4248
RR RUEHGI
DE RUEHNJ #0649/01 2200557
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 080557Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5604
INFO RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 1431
RUEHGI/AMEMBASSY BANGUI 1411
RUEHLC/AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE 1019
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1724
RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT 0137
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 0086
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 2228
RUEHYD/AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE 1590
RHEBAAA/DOE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 000649 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EEB/ESC/IEM MAUEL, EEB/ESC/IEC HAENDLER, 
EEB/ESC/IEC/ENR HAYMOND, DEPT OF ENERGY FOR CAROLYN GAY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CD ECON EPET PREL
SUBJECT: CHAD SHOWS RENEWED INTEREST IN EXTRACTIVE 
INDUSTRIES INITIATIVE 
 
REF: NDJAMENA 484 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY: Chadian officials, including the Minister 
of Oil, briefed donors on plans to implement the Extractive 
Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in two World 
Bank-hosted meetings July 26 and July 31, 2007.  Chad had 
already expressed interest in joining EITI in 2004, but there 
has been little to no action.   Due to the danger that Chad 
may be dropped from the list of EITI countries in September, 
Chad has shown renewed interest in implementing the 
initiative.  A close advisor to President Deby attended the 
EITI conference of Central African countries in Libreville in 
June and reported back to Deby on the progress Chad's 
neighbors have shown in implementing the initiative.  Perhaps 
not wanting to be outdone by his neighbors, President Deby 
gave a directive to the Ministry of Oil to implement EITI 
before August 31, 2007.  Plans include convening a workshop 
in late August with the aim of creating a national 
stakeholders group of government, civil society and 
companies. As Chad's existing oil transparency mechanisms 
include only government and civil society, EITI would add the 
oil companies to the equation.  While Esso (ExxonMobil-led 
consortium) officials are generally encouraged by Chad's 
renewed interest in EITI, citizens from the oil-producing 
areas are skeptical whether the latest government rhetoric 
will result in concrete action.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------- 
CHAD'S RENEWED INTEREST IN EITI 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  This cable provides an update on information 
provided in reftel.  On July 26, 2007, Ministry of Oil Chief 
of Services Al-Habbo Mahamat Saleh and Ministry of Plan 
official Nabia Kana briefed donors on the government's plans 
for implementing EITI.  Representatives from the World Bank, 
IMF, French Embassy, European Union, African Development Bank 
and U.S. Embassy participated.  Mr. Al-Habbo is the focal 
point in charge of EITI implementation.  He attended a recent 
EITI meeting in Libreville, Gabon (June 25-26) of all the 
Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) 
member countries.  According to a World Bank staff member, a 
close advisor to President Deby also attended the conference 
and reported back to Deby on the progress Chad's neighbors 
have shown in implementing the initiative.  Perhaps not 
wanting to be outdone by his neighbors, President Deby gave a 
directive to the Ministry of Oil to show concrete action on 
implementing EITI before August 31, 2007.  Mr. Al-Habbo said 
Chad had been discussing EITI since 2004 and had participated 
in the EITI conference in London in 2005, but since then, 
full implementation had been 'in process.'  He said Chad had 
now 'internalized' EITI and President Deby gave a clear 
directive to implement EITI. 
 
¶3. (SBU)   Mr. Al-Habbo said the government has formed an 
inter-ministerial committee for EITI, including the 
Presidency, the Prime Minister's office, Ministry of Plan, 
Ministry of Oil, Ministry of Finance, and the "College" (oil 
revenue management body).  There is also a sub-committee to 
deal with technical aspects.  For now only the oil sector 
will be involved but Mr. Al-Habbo expects the mining industry 
to be included in a later phase.  The sub-committee is 
preparing a decree that will authorize the creation of an 
EITI national stakeholders' group, including government, 
civil society and oil companies.  The sub-committee is also 
drafting a letter to the EITI secretariat in Oslo requesting 
membership in EITI.  (Note: according to the Chadian 
government, the letter to EITI from Chad in 2004 was only a 
'letter of interest' and not a formal request for membership). 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
STAKEHOLDERS' WORKSHOP PLANNED FOR LATE AUGUST 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  The next step is to organize a national workshop 
with stakeholders August 24-25, 2007 to bring together 
representatives of the government, civil society and the oil 
companies.  The workshop will provide a chance for the 
inter-ministerial group to present the EITI initiative and to 
 
NDJAMENA 00000649  002 OF 002 
 
 
create a national stakeholders' group to oversee EITI 
implementation.  The World Bank is providing technical 
assistance to the Chadian government to implement EITI, 
including the organization of the workshop.  The Bank is also 
arranging for delegations from Gabon and Mauritania to come 
to Chad and share their EITI experiences with the workshop 
participants.  In a follow-up meeting July 31, the Minister 
of Oil met with donors and other government officials to 
discuss the agenda and format of the stakeholders workshop in 
August.  He reiterated the importance of the initiative and 
asked for the support of donors and international 
organizations in carrying out President Deby's goal of 
joining EITI. 
 
----------------------- 
CIVIL SOCIETY SKEPTICAL 
----------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  In a separate meeting with representatives of a 
non-governmental organization (NGO) from the oil producing 
region, we asked their views of EITI.  They said 
representatives of Chadian civil society attended the 
conference on EITI in Libreville (the same one government 
officials attended).  As for whether the government's latest 
talk about EITI will result in concrete steps, they were 
skeptical.  From their perspective, since the government 
showed interest in EITI in 2004, they have seen no results. 
They said Chadian civil society has a representative in the 
international transparency group, "Publish-what-you-Pay." 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
WHAT DO THE COMPANIES THINK OF EITI IN CHAD? 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Officials at Esso, the ExxonMobil-led oil 
consortium, have a generally optimistic view of EITI.  They 
think implementing the initiative should be relatively easy 
for Chad since the Consortium is currently the main producer 
in Chad and thus, its payments of royalties and income tax to 
the government are automatically aggregated.  (In other 
countries with multiple producers, companies have been 
reticent to release payment information that would divulge 
confidential production sharing agreements; instead, they 
 
SIPDIS 
prefer to provide that information to a third-party 
aggregator).  In addition, Esso staff note Chad already has 
transparency mechanisms in place.  On a more cautionary note, 
U.S.-based ExxonMobil personnel are encouraged Chad is 
showing new interest in EITI, but given competing priorities 
for the government's attention, they wonder whether 
implementing EITI will make the first cut of issues to 
tackle.  They believe EITI will require true action and not 
just agreement in principle. 
 
-------------------------- 
WILL CHAD ACT ON ITS WORD? 
-------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  COMMENT: The jury is still out on whether Chad 
will follow through on its latest promises to implement EITI. 
It will be interesting to see if there is an opening of the 
political space in the upcoming stakeholders' workshop in 
terms of including a cross-section of civil society groups, 
and not just those who are allied with the regime.  In some 
respects, Chad is ahead of other oil producing countries in 
that an oil revenue transparency mechanism, the Petroleum 
Revenue Oversight and Control Committee ("College" in French) 
was put in place from the beginning of production.  EITI 
would be a welcome addition to the Chadian scene because it 
is complementary to oil revenue transparency programs already 
underway here.  The "College," for example, does not include 
oil companies in its membership and so the EITI exercise of 
comparing government oil receipts with companies' stated 
payments, and making that information public, would be a 
useful addition here.  Membership in EITI would also provide 
a certain international cachet to Chad and help ensure the 
country adheres to international transparency norms.  END 
COMMENT. 
TAMLYN