business

Dec. 20, 2021

OWN CORRESPONDENT

3 min read

Lesotho gets another shot at MCC compact development

Lesotho gets another shot at MCC compact development

Lesotho factory workers

Story highlights

    MCC board held its quarterly meeting last week Tuesday and reselected the country into programme
    Reselection gives Lesotho a chance to make amends on past shortcomings

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LESOTHO is one of the countries which have been reselected for Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) compact development, a statement from MCC shows.

The statement further notes that the MCC’s Board of Directors also reselected Indonesia, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Timor-Leste for compact development.
It states that the board reaffirmed its support for continuing compact development in Kosovo, adding that the Board reselected Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, and Benin as eligible for concurrent compact programmes for regional integration.
However, it states that due to Benin’s overall multi-year decline in its commitment to MCC’s eligibility criteria and the principles of democratic governance, the Board discussed and endorsed MCC’s determination to significantly reduce the portion of the planned regional investment that would be made in Benin through a concurrent compact.
It further shows that MCC regularly reviews its partner countries’ policy performance throughout the development and implementation of a compact or threshold program.

“Following this year’s review, MCC’s Board of Directors discontinued MCC’s development of a proposed threshold programme with Ethiopia while welcoming the opportunity to renew engagement with Ethiopia in the future if conditions permit,” the statement adds.
The board held its quarterly meeting last week Tuesday and selected Belize and Zambia as newly eligible to develop MCC compacts, the agency’s five-year grant program.
The press statement further indicates that selecting Belize for a compact allows MCC to partner with a country that has demonstrated a clear commitment to democratic governance, but that is facing rising poverty rates and significant challenges to economic growth.

 It adds that with this new partnership, MCC will support the Government of Belize’s efforts to build economic resilience and address its most binding constraints to growth.
It notes that Zambia completed a prior compact with MCC in 2018 and demonstrates strong performance on MCC’s scorecard.

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It further highlights that a subsequent compact will support the Government of Zambia’s efforts to address the country’s pressing development challenges and pursue critical economic and democratic governance reforms following its recent democratic transition.
MCC is an independent United States of America (USA) 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. LeNA

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