Public Finance Monitoring Center

	PFMC/IPD Workshop Speakers Stress the Role of the Media in Promoting Development
	Address: 69, Fizuly str., Baku 370601, Azerbaijan Phone/Fax: +(99412) 973172, 992014, 973089 E-mail: iakhmedov@online.az, farid@pfmc.az www.pfmc.az

November 21 - Columbia University adjunct professor Jenik Radon and World Bank economist Emin Huseynov spoke to reporters Friday about the importance of the role of the media in covering oil wealth and the impact it has on development.

Speaking at the conclusion of a three-day workshop for reporters on covering oil wealth and the impact it has on development, Huseynov stressed the need to promote transparency in government accounting procedures. He reviewed the changes to Azerbaijan's budgetary laws, made in the nineties and in 2002/2003 and concluded that it constitutes an initial solid stepping stone towards providing full transparency but that more importantly, implementation remains a challenge.

"Important improvements have been made but successful implementation of these changes remain as a key challenge," Huseynov told a group of reporters at the three-day workshop held at the ISR Business Center in Baku.

The event is being organized by the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, an international network of economists based at Columbia University in New York and by the Public Finance Monitoring Center in Baku.

Jenik Radon said that journalists reporting in nations with new oil wealth have to focus on very basic issues: how much oil is being produced, how much money is being earned and under what terms, whether adequate measures are in place to minimize corruption, and whether the laws are being respected.

He added that among the questions reporters need to ask is whether the producing nation is receiving a "fair" return; whether the production companies are complying with the law, especially laws on environment; and whether there are sanctions and enforcement mechanisms if this fails to happen. Another key issue is whether all money from the sale of oil makes it to the government budget. The basic questions, in short, are is there corruption? Are oil and gas revenues being properly invested? And are the production costs of the oil companies being accurately calculated?

"Reporters need to know, and write about, whether Azerbaijan is profiting from the production of oil and gas, and whether the benefits are for the nation or just for the few," Radon said.

Other speakers in the workshop were Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz, Sabit Bagirov, chairman of the Azerbaijan office of Transparency International, Azeri economist Nazim Imanov and Public Finance Monitoring Center director Ingilab Akhmedov. Some 25 Azeri and Georgian reporters attended the event. The discussions were moderated by Professor Sahin Alpay of Istanbul's Bahceshehir University and journalist Andrew Finkel, also based in Istanbul.

The conference is being held to help reporters enhance their coverage of the effects that resource wealth can have on Azerbaijan and to raise awareness about the need for improved transparency and corporate governance. "It is the responsibility of journalists to inform the wider public about what its country is earning, and how well that money is being managed," said Svetlana Tsalik, director of the Open Society Institute, a sponsor of the event.

Managing oil wealth is a challenge for developing and transition countries that are lucky enough to have these resources. Nations need to decide how they can deal with influxes of large revenues without producing distortions of income inequality, corruption, misallocation of resources and macroeconomic imbalances such as high inflation and low growth. Azerbaijan is a test case and could become a role model for other countries with large energy resources depending on how its leadership decides to handle the challenge.

Reporters attending the workshop will participate in discussions about the effect that oil wealth can have on other countries and learn about how other countries have coped with these development challenges.

The event was being held on November 19, 20, 21 in Baku. The event is part of a series of workshops and meetings being planned by Caspian Revenue Watch. CRW is part of the Open Society Institute and in June released a report "Caspian Oil Windfalls: Who Will Benefit?" (The report can be found at www.eurasianet.org/caspian.oil.windfalls)

The Public Finance Monitoring Center was responsible for organizing the logistics of the meeting and inviting local reporters to participate. IPD journalism training director Anya Schiffrin prepared the program, invited the guest speakers and will be responsible for follow-up activities. IPD has a website for journalists who cover finance and economics which can be found on www.journalismtraining.net

The event is being funded by the OSCE, the Open Society Institute (courtesy of the East-East Program and the Network Media Program) and the Initiative for Policy Dialogue.