Making Information Disclosure in Extractive Governance Count for Accountability in Mozambique

Abstract

Does information disclosure on corrupt extractive contracts empower citizens and institutions to take social and political action (SPA) to demand government accountability? In Mozambique, there have been some instances where Civil Society Organisation (CSO) work on information disclosure has contributed to actions resulting in the compensation and resettlement of affected mining communities, information about extractive contracts and concessions being made publicly available on line, and actions resulting in development and changes in mining legislation. But such action is at best episodic, and generally, there has been little social and political action (SPA) around information disclosure, which demands government accountability. What could be the reasons and how can policy actors make information disclosure count in the promotion of accountability in Mozambique? This work is part of the Action for Empowerment and Accountability (A4EA) programme