Guatemala signs transparency measure

A Guatemalan energy company announced the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative was signed in an effort to improve international credibility. Perenco Guatemala announced the EITI signing for Guatemala took place in the presence of representative of the World Bank. An EITI steering committee includes Perenco officials as well as government ministers. "The EITI sets standards for revenues issued from the extraction of natural resources in member countries," a statement read. "This initiative improves the governance of the country, its international credibility, and enforces the government's fight against corruption, thus creating stability for business." Advocacy group Transparency International gave the country an overall corruption score for 2011 of 2.7 with a score of 0 representing "highly corrupt" and 10 representing "very clean." The energy company said its general manager signed the EITI agreement "to play an active role in the committee and as the head of a responsible company in Guatemala, committed to full transparency." EITI is voluntary mechanism meant to ensure a level of transparency in natural resource revenues. The United States, which has a corruption index of 7.1, signed the EITI last month.