DAVID A. YATES
Africa-Press – Liberia. The administration of President George Weah has finally passed the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation scorecard after five years of repeated failures.
The pass, which comes at the end of the President’s six-year term and amid runoff elections, is a significant policy achievement for the Weah administration, which achieved a pass in 14 out of 20 indicators, including the “hard hurdles”—the Political Rights or Civil Liberties indicator, and the Control of Corruption indicator.
According to the U.S., for a country to be considered for compact funding, a pass in at least 10 of 20 indicators is a must, including the “hard hurdles.”
However, success in the scorecard, which serves as a key component in the country selection process, does not automatically determine funding.
Out of 25 countries, a few will be selected for compact funding after the MCC’s Board of Directors meeting in December, with the decision being based on policy performance as measured by the scorecard, the opportunity to reduce poverty through economic growth, and the availability of funding.
Once a country is selected, if they agree to participate, they then develop a compact or threshold program proposal for a five-year grant. Only low- and lower-middle-income countries as classified by the World Bank are eligible for MCC assistance.
As stated in previous engagements, the Weah Administration plans to apply for a new compact to the tune of US$500 million. If the MCC designates Liberia to apply for a second compact, it will begin no earlier than 2024 — after the current election process and depending on the priorities of the next administration.
The first and only time Liberia won a compact grant, which was US$257 million meant to help increase access to more reliable and affordable electricity and improve the planning and execution of routine, periodic, and emergency road maintenance, was in 2015, during the administration of former President Sirleaf.
The compact program ended in 2021 with the result of improving the amount and reliability of electricity supply and more than doubling the number of homes with electricity access while leaving the Liberian government with a sustainable, data-driven road maintenance system.
Out of the US$350 million spent to rebuild the country’s largest hydropower plant, Mt. Coffee, a whopping US$146.3 million came from the Compact.
As for the 2024 scorecards, Liberia, along with 24 other countries, passed, with 55 countries falling short in the process. The scorecards consist of a collection of 20 independent, third-party indicators that measure a country’s policy performance in the areas of economic freedom, ruling justly, and investing in people.
The FY24 scorecards included two changes to the education indicators related to the way MCC assesses a country’s commitment to strengthening its education system. First, MCC set higher standards for girls’ education by replacing the indicator on girls’ enrollment in lower secondary school with one that assesses girls’ completion of lower secondary education.
Second, MCC replaced its indicator measuring government expenditures on primary education with a new indicator that covers expenditures for all levels of education.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation is an independent U.S. government agency working to reduce global poverty through economic growth. Created in 2004, MCC provides time-limited grants and assistance to countries that meet rigorous standards for good governance, fighting corruption, and respecting democratic rights.
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