East Africa public lawyers to hone skills in oil contracts negotiation

Regional public sector lawyers who are involved in negotiating mining and oil deals will undergo an intensive training next week to sharpen their skills. “The five-day training is designed for public sector lawyers and law professors involved in negotiating transactions and drafting agreements on behalf of government in extractive sectors and other large scale projects,” EADB director general, Vivienne Yeda, said. The training will focus on exploration, project finance, production sharing agreements and multi-contracting deals, according to the East African Development Bank (EADB), the organisers of the seminar that starts on Tuesday in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The seminar will be facilitated by global law firm, DLA Piper. Yeda said there is a need for laws that will ensure that money from minerals supports regional development and the welfare of host communities and governments. “Deliberate and determined efforts have to be made to ensure transparency in the contracting process to eliminate transfer pricing, and prevent manipulation of prices and tax evasion, as well as ensure best practices in employment and management of the environment and benefits to the local populations,” she noted. She stressed that public sector lawyers play a central role in the management of the extractive industry by providing quality advice to their governments. The training follows an earlier one help in Kigali, Rwanda in March.

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East Africa public lawyers to hone skills in oil contracts negotiation