Oil, gas and mining watchdog Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) said Myanmar needs more transparency and policy reform.

In an October 16 report, EITI praised the government for “meaningful progress” in data reporting and fostering public debate. “The Board congratulates Myanmar for the unprecedented disclosures of extractives data in a country with a nascent democratic process and recent history of economic liberalisation,” it said.

However, the report also called for improved transparency surrounding license allocations, the activities of state-owned enterprises and gemstone production figures. EITI gave Myanmar an April, 2021, deadline to implement reforms in a number of key areas. Failure to meet the deadline would result in “suspension in accordance with the EITI Standard,” the report concluded.

Oil, gas and mining are some of Myanmar’s most lucrative industries as well as its most controversial. Allegations of exploitation and abuse of workers plagued those sectors for decades, particularly in jade mining. These industries also carry a reputation of corruption, with politicians awarding licenses to crony capitalists in exchange for kickbacks and favors. Furthermore, state-owned enterprises – many of them affiliated with the military – account for a big portion of the revenue for those industries. The United Nations has recently called for a boycott of all military-linked business in Myanmar.

Thus, winning the approval of a watchdog like EITI could be a much-needed political win for the government. And despite the criticisms, EITI claimed it considered “the complexity of the extractive sector in the country and the good faith efforts undertaken by Myanmar” when drafting the report, and expressed optimism in the government’s ability to achieve successful reform.