(2) what representations he has received on the management of oil revenues in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville);
(3) what representations he has received on the involvement of Denis Christel Sassou-Nguesso in the management of oil revenues in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville);
(4) what assessment he has made of the extent of corruption within the Congolese (Brazzaville) oil sector;
(5) what recent discussions he has had with (a) the International Monetary Fund, (b) his counterparts at the EU and (c) the government of the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) about management of oil revenues.
DFID has not made its own assessments of the management of oil revenues or the extent of corruption within the oil sector. It relies on the assessment of the IMF and World Bank, for reasons of efficiency and the avoidance of duplication. Their latest assessment of progress in improving oil sector governance and reducing corruption indicates progress on increasing transparency has been slow. The World Bank is providing technical assistance to ensure that there are no capacity constraints preventing the Congolese authorities from implementing the necessary transparency reforms.
The UK discusses governance issues and the need for increased transparency in the oil sector with the Congolese government in conjunction with European partners and through the World Bank and IMF. The IMF missions to Brazzaville (October 2006 and May 2007) met with the President, Prime Minister, Planning and Finance Ministers, Central Bank Director and other senior officials, representatives of the donor community and civil society. We continue to urge for greater political support for improvements in accountability, and have argued strongly that oil revenue windfalls should be directed to activities which support poverty reduction.
DFID has not received any recent representations on the management of oil revenues in the Republic of Congo, nor of Mr. Sassou-Nguesso’s involvement.