
Dominican Republic
Overview and role of the EITI
The Dominican Republic has experienced significant economic growth over the past decade. The contribution of the extractive sector to the national economy grew from 0.7% to 4.2% between 2010 and 2018 and accounted for 46% of the country’s exports in 2020. Nevertheless, the government is not dependent on extractive revenues, which accounted for 3.7% of total government revenue in 2020.
The two main commodities produced in the Dominican Republic are gold and ferronickel. The mining sector is mainly driven by two large mining operations, Pueblo Viejo and Falcondo. The government has also promoted oil and gas exploration for which it concluded the first bidding round in 2019, however no discoveries have been made to date.
The government is using the EITI platform to support the enforcement of a transparency framework in its effort to develop extractive resources. However, a number of civil society organisations oppose the expansion of the extractive sector due to the environmental and social impacts that mining has had in the past. In this context, the EITI is being used as a platform for dialogue and debate.
Economic contribution of the extractive industries
- 3.7%
- to government revenues
- 45.5%
- to exports
- 4.13%
- to GDP
- 0.17%
- to employment
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Innovations and policy reforms
- In 2019, EITI-RD consulted key stakeholders to conduct an evaluation on the impact of the EITI in the Dominican Republic, specifically in relation to the objective of the EITI work plan and recommendations from EITI reporting.
- In 2019, EITI-RD commissioned a study on the scope and materiality of EITI reporting. The study provides recommendations on what types of disclosures should be made in accordance with the EITI Standard.
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to identify data that is systematically disclosed through government and company systems. The evaluation also provides recommendations on strengthening these disclosures further.
- Since February 2018, institutional communications and relations on procedures for auditing and monitoring extractives revenues have strengthened among government agencies. This inter-agency coordination, led by the Ministry of Energy and Mines, has allowed for EITI reporting to become more streamlined, enabling the government to strengthen its systems and more efficiently disclose data that matters to its citizens.
- In 2021, EITI-RD conducted an evaluation
EITI transparency is good for countries, good for governments, and good for companies because it gives guarantees that ensure the sector is being managed under a global standard.
Extractive sector data
Production and exports
Revenue collection
Revenue distribution
Top paying companies
Extractive sector management
Tax and legal framework
The Constitution of the Dominican Republic establishes that natural resources belong to the nation. The country’s mining sector is governed by the Mining Law, which regulates the exploration, exploitation and benefits of metallic and non-metallic substances. This law also establishes a tax regime applicable to mining activities.
The oil and gas sector is governed by the Law No. 4532, which establishes the powers of the Executive Power to contract the exploration and exploitation of oil and other hydrocarbons.
The Dominican Republic’s extractive and energy sector is regulated by the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), which is responsible for formulating policies related to energy and mining.
Licenses and contracts
Mining titles and rights are granted through a public bidding process and are awarded by the General Directorate of Mining (DGM), under the Ministry of Energy and Mines. The DGM is responsible for managing the mining cadastre, registry and licenses applications. More information on awarded licenses is available on the EITI-RD website.
Information on mining licenses and concessions is published via the DGM's website. Resolutions for mining titles granted since 2014 are publicly available on the Ministry of Energy and Mines' website. Mining contracts are explained and disclosed in the EITI-RD webportal, including the special contracts signed for the Pueblo Viejo and Presa de Cola Las Lagunas projects.
Beneficial ownership
In the Dominican Republic, the registration of beneficial owners is regulated by the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law. The law provides a definition for beneficial ownership and Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs). Article 50 of the Tax Code includes the obligation for all companies to identify their beneficial owner and any modification thereto.
Beneficial ownership information is currently not publicly disclosed.
Revenue distribution
All mining revenues are captured in the Single Treasury Account and are not associated with a specific expenditure account. However, the National Development Strategy includes as a line of action "to design and implement mechanisms for municipalities to participate in the revenues generated by metallic and non-metallic mining operations established in their territory and to finance sustainable development projects."
The government uses different modalities to allocate part of the resources from mining projects to municipalities and/or development funds. These vary per contract, project and province, and an overview is provided on the EITI-RD website.
In 2020, the government produced a report to analyse whether the transfer of 5% of net profits generated by Pueblo Viejo Dominicana Corporation (PVDC) were being made during 2017 and 2018 in accordance with the agreed revenue sharing formula. The formula for calculating subnational transfers for the mining company Pueblo Viejo Dominicana Corporatión-Barrick (Barrick-PVDC) is outlined in a concept paper.
EITI implementation
Governance
EITI-RD is administered by the Dominican Republic Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG), also known as the Comisión Nacional EITI-RD (CNEITI-RD), in accordance with Decree 248-16. The MSG is chaired by the Minister of Energy and Mines, Antonio Almonte Reynoso, and is comprised of representatives from government, industry and civil society.
Timeline
Government announces commitment to join the EITI
Multi-stakeholder group is formed
Candidature application is submitted
Application
Dominican Republic joined
2015 EITI Report published
Report
2016 EITI Report published
Report
2017-2018 EITI Report published
Report
Dominican Republic status
2019-2020 EITI Report published
Report
Validation
Dominican Republic was found to have made meaningful progress in implementing the 2016 EITI Standard in February 2020, following its first Validation. The Validation identified three corrective actions to be addressed by the country’s next Validation, expected to commence in April 2023.