Millennium Challenge Account Looking for New Partners
Dakar, Senegal – The U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has moved from idea to theory to reality and is looking for good development partners worldwide who will use funds wisely to promote economic growth and reduce poverty, Ambassador Paul V. Applegarth, MCC chief executive officer, told the AGOA Forum July 18.
Addressing the delegates of the 37 nations eligible for assistance under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, Applegarth said, “The beauty of the MCC is that becoming eligible (for the program) is within the power of almost every African country. The power is up to you,” he said.
Applegarth told the delegates MCC is at the forum “to talk about what it means in practice and operation (to be part of the MCC) in very concrete terms.” MCC, he said, is now working with 400 million people in 30 countries all across the globe.
He said it is particularly appropriate that an MCC session be held within the context of the AGOA Forum because “there is not one magic bullet to reducing poverty, promoting economic growth, trade, debt reduction, private sector investment, and foreign aid.”
The MCC believes in aid, but specifically in more effective aid, he stressed. Additionally, he said, MCC wants to implement a “cycle of success. Good policy increases peoples’ potential” and that directly translates into success, he said.
The MCC, Applegarth explained, is currently working to implement lessons learned from the past. “Good policies promote growth and support poverty reduction,” he said.
Applegarth said MCC has “come a long way” since its founding and is currently working in 17 countries selected from the 82 poorest countries in the world, of which nine are in Africa. He noted that the first MCC compact was signed with Madagascar, which has made reducing poverty and accelerating economic growth a national priority.
The first MCC Threshold Program Agreement, for countries making their way through the MCC process, will be signed later this week in Burkina Faso, he added.
“Africa has been a focus of our program,” he said, “not because we gave it special treatment but because African leaders, African governments have taken sometimes difficult steps to reform policies and to qualify and then have moved quickly to complete (their own) good programs.”
In little more than 10 months, the MCC has approved more than $625 million in compact, pre-compact and threshold program funding in nine different countries, he said, adding that MCC is now having what is becoming known as an “MCC effect” on good governance in many countries.
CAPE VERDE
The MCC chief appeared on the program along with the Cape Verde Finance Minister Joao Serra. MCC signed a $110 million five-year compact with Cape Verde on July 4.
The MCC chief executive praised Cape Verde as an example of a nation practicing what MCC is trying to encourage. “Cape Verde’s leadership has an outstanding track record in democratic governance, transparency and in fighting corruption and has created a world class fiscal system.” Cape Verde, he said, deserves to be recognized for its achievements.
Cape Verdean Minister of Finance Joao Serra said his government is democratically elected, has an independent judiciary and is corruption-free but faces both a high unemployment and equally high poverty rate. For that reason, he said, there is a need to build a society based on private-sector growth that can sustain long-term economic growth.
Cape Verde, he said, shares the MCC philosophy that stresses the need for good governance.
The objective of his government, Serra told the delegates, is to use MCC to help it come out of poverty and achieve a higher economic growth rate, better development and an improved standard of living for its people.
The July 18-20 AGOA Forum is the U.S. government’s premier platform to articulate and advance its trade and investment policies with sub-Saharan Africa and serves as a place to explore new ways to foster closer economic ties with the region, through the historic African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Three AGOA Forums have been held to previously: Washington in October 2001, Mauritius in January 2003 and again in Washington in December 2003.
The 2005 AGOA Forum, which is hosted by Senegal, will focus on how eligible countries can diversify their exports by taking advantage of the broad range of products eligible for preferential U.S. treatment under AGOA.
For additional information on U.S. initiatives to assist the continent, see U.S. Aid to Africa and Millennium Challenge Account.
Created:18 Jul 2005 Updated: 18 Jul 2005
Ambassador Paul Applegarth addresses AGOA Forum
By Charles W. Corey
Washington File Staff Writer
Addressing the delegates of the 37 nations eligible for assistance under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, Applegarth said, “The beauty of the MCC is that becoming eligible (for the program) is within the power of almost every African country. The power is up to you,” he said.
Applegarth told the delegates MCC is at the forum “to talk about what it means in practice and operation (to be part of the MCC) in very concrete terms.” MCC, he said, is now working with 400 million people in 30 countries all across the globe.
He said it is particularly appropriate that an MCC session be held within the context of the AGOA Forum because “there is not one magic bullet to reducing poverty, promoting economic growth, trade, debt reduction, private sector investment, and foreign aid.”
The MCC believes in aid, but specifically in more effective aid, he stressed. Additionally, he said, MCC wants to implement a “cycle of success. Good policy increases peoples’ potential” and that directly translates into success, he said.
The MCC, Applegarth explained, is currently working to implement lessons learned from the past. “Good policies promote growth and support poverty reduction,” he said.
Applegarth said MCC has “come a long way” since its founding and is currently working in 17 countries selected from the 82 poorest countries in the world, of which nine are in Africa. He noted that the first MCC compact was signed with Madagascar, which has made reducing poverty and accelerating economic growth a national priority.
The first MCC Threshold Program Agreement, for countries making their way through the MCC process, will be signed later this week in Burkina Faso, he added.
“Africa has been a focus of our program,” he said, “not because we gave it special treatment but because African leaders, African governments have taken sometimes difficult steps to reform policies and to qualify and then have moved quickly to complete (their own) good programs.”
In little more than 10 months, the MCC has approved more than $625 million in compact, pre-compact and threshold program funding in nine different countries, he said, adding that MCC is now having what is becoming known as an “MCC effect” on good governance in many countries.
CAPE VERDE
The MCC chief appeared on the program along with the Cape Verde Finance Minister Joao Serra. MCC signed a $110 million five-year compact with Cape Verde on July 4.
The MCC chief executive praised Cape Verde as an example of a nation practicing what MCC is trying to encourage. “Cape Verde’s leadership has an outstanding track record in democratic governance, transparency and in fighting corruption and has created a world class fiscal system.” Cape Verde, he said, deserves to be recognized for its achievements.
Cape Verdean Minister of Finance Joao Serra said his government is democratically elected, has an independent judiciary and is corruption-free but faces both a high unemployment and equally high poverty rate. For that reason, he said, there is a need to build a society based on private-sector growth that can sustain long-term economic growth.
Cape Verde, he said, shares the MCC philosophy that stresses the need for good governance.
The objective of his government, Serra told the delegates, is to use MCC to help it come out of poverty and achieve a higher economic growth rate, better development and an improved standard of living for its people.
The July 18-20 AGOA Forum is the U.S. government’s premier platform to articulate and advance its trade and investment policies with sub-Saharan Africa and serves as a place to explore new ways to foster closer economic ties with the region, through the historic African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Three AGOA Forums have been held to previously: Washington in October 2001, Mauritius in January 2003 and again in Washington in December 2003.
The 2005 AGOA Forum, which is hosted by Senegal, will focus on how eligible countries can diversify their exports by taking advantage of the broad range of products eligible for preferential U.S. treatment under AGOA.
For additional information on U.S. initiatives to assist the continent, see U.S. Aid to Africa and Millennium Challenge Account.
Created:18 Jul 2005 Updated: 18 Jul 2005
Ambassador Paul Applegarth addresses AGOA Forum
By Charles W. Corey
Washington File Staff Writer
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