The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative or EITI is a global standard of transparency that requires oil, gas, and mining companies to publish what they pay to the government; and the government to publish what they collect from these companies. The initiative aims to encourage countries to be more transparent in reporting the benefits they receive from their country’s natural resources. By publishing material information on payments and revenues, the EITI aims to address the resource curse phenomenon in resource rich but poor economies.
The EITI adheres to the principle that there must be sound management of natural resources. It operates on the premise that the citizens own these resources, and therefore have the right to know how these resources are managed.