LEITI Boss Breaks Down Liberia’s EITI Performance | News

The Head of Secretariat of the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI), Jeffrey Yates, has highlighted Liberia’s performance in the latest Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Validation, outlining areas where the country has made significant progress while identifying critical gaps that require attention before the next review.

Yates, in a social media post on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, shared an overview of Liberia’s latest EITI Validation results, emphasizing the country’s achievements in extractive sector governance, transparency, and stakeholder engagement.

“Understanding Liberia’s latest EITI Validation. Where we performed well and where we need to improve before the next Validation,” Yates stated.

According to the latest EITI assessment, Liberia achieved an overall score of 80 points, earning a “Very Good” rating for its implementation of the global transparency standard designed to promote accountability in the oil, mining, and natural resources sectors.

The validation assessed Liberia’s performance in three major areas: stakeholder engagement, outcomes and impact, and transparency. Liberia received a score of 80 points for stakeholder engagement, 87.5 points for outcomes and impact, and 69.5 points for transparency.

The results demonstrate Liberia’s continued progress in strengthening collaboration between government institutions, extractive companies, civil society organizations, and citizens in promoting openness and accountability within the natural resource sector.

In stakeholder engagement, Liberia recorded strong results, particularly in government and company participation. Government engagement received a score of 70 points, rated as “Very Good,” while company engagement also scored 70 points.

Civil society engagement and multi-stakeholder group (MSG) governance each received 90 points, classified as “Good,” showing continued participation but also indicating areas where further strengthening may be needed.

The EITI assessment also recognized Liberia’s strong performance in achieving outcomes and impact, where the country received an overall score of 87.5 points, rated as “Very Good.”

One of Liberia’s strongest areas was its work plan, monitoring, and review process, which received a 100-point “Leading” score. The country also scored 90 points (“Very Good”) for promoting public debate and 90 points (“Very Good”) for data accessibility and open data.

Follow-up on recommendations received 70 points, rated as “Good,” indicating that Liberia has made progress in addressing previous EITI findings but still has room for improvement.

Despite the strong overall performance, the validation identified challenges that could affect Liberia’s future ranking if not addressed.

In the transparency component, Liberia received 69.5 points, classified as “Good.” The assessment examined several areas, including the legal framework for extractive industries, exploration and production data, export information, licensing systems, beneficial ownership disclosure, state participation, revenue reporting, and data quality.

Liberia received high marks for its legal framework and exploration data, each scoring 90 points, rated as “Very Good.” Production data, export data, and the contribution of the extractive sector to the economy each received 70 points, classified as “Good.”

The country also performed well in licensing transparency, scoring 70 points for license allocations, 90 points for the license register, and **90 points for contracts and licenses disclosure.

However, the assessment highlighted weaknesses in beneficial ownership transparency and state participation, with Liberia receiving 50 points, rated as “Limited,” in both areas.

Beneficial ownership transparency remains a major focus under the EITI standard, as it seeks to ensure that citizens know the individuals who ultimately benefit from companies operating in the extractive sector.

On revenue collection and data quality, Liberia recorded mixed results. The country received 90 points (“Very Good”) for the comprehensiveness of revenue information, 70 points (“Good”) for the level of disaggregation, and 90 points (“Very Good”) for data timeliness.

However, data quality and assurance received a score of 25 points, rated as “Poor,” highlighting the need for stronger systems to verify and guarantee the accuracy of information published through the EITI process.

Liberia also received a 50-point “Limited” rating for project costs, another area requiring additional improvement.

The assessment further reviewed revenue management and subnational contributions, where Liberia achieved an overall score of 70 points, rated as “Good.” Revenue management and expenditures received 70 points, reflecting progress in improving disclosure on how extractive sector revenues are managed.

In the area of social and environmental impacts, Liberia recorded mixed performance. The country received 50 points (“Limited”) for social and environmental expenditures, while environmental impact reporting scored 70 points (“Good”). Greenhouse gas emissions reporting was not assigned a score under the validation framework.

The latest EITI Validation provides both recognition and a roadmap for Liberia as it continues efforts to strengthen governance of its natural resources.

The findings highlight the need for continued reforms, particularly in improving beneficial ownership disclosure, strengthening information on state participation, enhancing data quality assurance, and expanding reporting on social and environmental issues.

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative is a global standard that promotes transparency and accountability in countries where natural resources contribute significantly to national development.

Liberia joined the EITI process in 2009 and has since used the platform to improve disclosure of extractive sector contracts, licenses, payments, revenues, and government oversight mechanisms.