The Secretary of State for Oil and Gas, José Barroso, highlighted, on Wednesday, in Luanda, the role of Compliance in improving the business environment in the extractive sector.
José Barroso, who spoke at the opening of the II Forum on Compliance, considered that integrity and compliance constitute an essential tool to guarantee the confidence of investors and society in general and for consolidation of an increasingly transparent, attractive and robust industry.
“Compliance is a commitment made by the sector within the framework of the implementation of integrity policies.
Our aim is to encourage discussion and promote collaboration to strengthen the foundations of Compliance, ethics and integrity in the sector”, he pointed out.
The official highlighted that the Extractive Industry plays an important role in combining sources of revenue for the country’s economy, being responsible for a large part of the GDP, generating thousands of jobs and contributing to improving the living conditions of Angolans.
José Barroso made it known that the Angolan Executive is committed to strengthening Industry.
To this end, he added, it strives to ensure not only the necessary operational efficiency, but also the confidence of all interested parties in the positive use of the natural resources that the country enjoys. provides, with a view to boosting development.
José Barroso said that such actions are in line with the process of structural reforms that have been implemented in the sector in recent years, with a particular focus on transparency.
Transparency policy
The Secretary of State for Oil and Gas, José Barroso, said that, “as members of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, we cannot fail to take note of the International Day Against Corruption, celebrated on December 9th.
In the last six years, he recalled, Angola has considerably improved the perception of corruption, which has had a positive impact on the business environment.
An example is the disclosure made by the NGO Transparency International regarding the Perception Index on corruption for the year 2022, where Angola went from 27 to 33 points, which earned it a rise to the position 116, against the previous position of 140.
Sharing experiences
The president of the Board of Directors of the National Oil and Gas Agency, Paulino Jerónimo, highlighted that this forum is another opportunity to share experiences and perspectives around the Extractive Industry .
Paulo Jerónimo also stated that transparency and commitment to Compliance, are fundamental to guarantee the stability and credibility of the sector and, in this way, protect the interest of Angolans and the business environment.
Sharing experiences
The head of Sonangol’s Internal Control Department, Pedro Sebastião, pointed out the constant changes in international regulations on Compliance matters as one of the main challenges for the gradual implementation of Compliance in the various institutions.
The other challenge highlighted by the person responsible is to ensure that every Angolan citizen is engaged and committed to compliance.
He guaranteed that the institution has done a great job internally in relation to ethical conduct
Good results
ExxonMobil representative Djamila Pinto said that a company that has a strong policy in complying with all applicable legislation and regulations will be less prone to fines, sanctions and penalties, considering risk mitigation an important aspect to enhance the achievement of results.
It further considered that a good reputation of an institution is essential to gain the trust of investors, partners, suppliers and even the workers themselves, adding that a company that is guided by values such as integrity and honesty is more easily able to retain excellent staff.
“We believe that profit should not be the only focus of the company, there has to be a balance between profit and other factors by which we guide our conduct, human capital is the basis of a company and, therefore, if these people are guided by values such as ethics and integrity, they will naturally be more satisfied and engaged”, he highlighted.
The II Forum on Compliance also served as a stage for the debate on topics such as ” Ethics, Corporate Governance and Conflict of Interest Management “the importance of compliance risk management in the prevention of corporate crimes” The panels were composed of audit specialists, technicians from the oil, banking and insurance sectors.
Compliance is the set of procedures and rules that aim to keep the organization in line with current standards, whether legal or internal.
