IPNEWS: For several years Liberia had struggled to qualify for the United States Millennium Compact Challenge (MCC).

The MCC is an innovative and independent U.S. foreign assistance agency that is helping lead the fight against global poverty.

The selection for the MCC compact assistance is limited to countries whose gross national income (GNI) per capita is $2,045 or less; and countries whose GNI per capita is between $2,046 and $4,255.

In selecting countries as eligible for a subsequent compact, the MCC Board considers, among other factors, the country’s policy performance over time using the standard indicator methodology; the opportunity to reduce poverty and generate economic growth in the country; the availability of MCC funds; and the country’s performance implementing its previous compact, including evidence of a commitment to further reform.

The evaluation is done by considering the nature of the country’s partnership with MCC, the degree to which the country has demonstrated a commitment and capacity to achieve program results, and the degree to which the country has implemented its previous or existing compact in accordance with MCC’s policies and standards.

Often times, countries are required to pass the scorecard for multiple years before being selected.

To pass the MCC scorecard, a country must pass at least 10 of the 20 indicators, with at least one pass in each of the three categories; pass either the political rights or civil liberties indicator; and pass the control of corruption indicator.

Created by the U.S. Congress in January 2004 with strong bipartisan support, MCC has changed the conversation on how best to deliver smart U.S. foreign assistance by focusing on good policies, country ownership and results. MCC provides time-limited grants promoting economic growth, reducing poverty, and strengthening institutions. These investments not only support stability and prosperity in partner countries, but also enhance American interests.

Fortunately, on Thursday, November 3, 2022, in a released, The Millennium Compact Challenge (MCC) announcing its latest scorecards of countries deemed eligible for MCC assistance, listed Liberia as one the 66 countries making a pass and standing the chance of being considered for a compact during the 2023 fiscal year.

Detail of the Millennium Compact Challenge (MCC), states that Liberia passed 12 out of the 20 indicators: inflation, political rights, civil liberties, control of corruption, trade policy, rule of law, freedom of information, gender in the economy, land rights and access, access to credit, employment opportunity and health expenditure, failing in only eight of the indicators, including primary education expenditure, immunization rate, child health, etc.

The MCC scorecard shows that Liberia successfully passed more than half of the indicators, control of corruption and democratic rights, which are the three main indicators for eligibility for a compact assistance.

In August this year, Government of Liberia, under current President George Manneh Weah, failed to reach the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s scorecard standards, making the country to lose over US$500 million in Compact Grant.

Prior to the outcome of this report in August of 2022, Liberia had again performed dismally in the U.S. Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) program after it failed 11 of the 20 indicators.

This year’s dismal performance marks the fifth year in a row that the Liberian Government had failed to make a pass in the MCC scorecard, and in the process, missed out on securing a second compact from the MCC – an amount in the tune of at least US$500 million dollars.

A country is considered to “pass” the scorecard if it passes at least 10 of the 20 indicators including the “Control of Corruption indicator” and, either the Civil “Liberties or Political Rights indicator.”

However, in 2021, Liberia only passed nine of the 20 indicators, as released by the MCC in its Fiscal Year 2022 report on Wednesday.

Despite the Government’s promises, Liberia failed to make any improvement, repeating last year’s years dismal performance by failing in all of the indicators.

They include the “Rule of Law, government effectiveness, trade policy, regulatory quality, inflation, fiscal policy, natural resource, primary education expenditure, and child health and immunization rates.

The nine indicators it passed include political rights, civil liberties, freedom of information, control of corruption, gender in the economy, land rights and access, health expenditures, access to Credit and business start-up.

The MCC and Liberia

The MCC is an independent U.S. foreign aid agency created in 2004 under Republican President George W. Bush to promote economic growth, open markets, and increased living standards in select countries.

MCC applies specific criteria in focusing its work abroad, using indicators regarding countries’ commitment to good governance, economic freedom, and investing in their citizens.

MCC provides selected countries with large-scale grants to fund projects for reducing poverty through sustainable economic growth. These projects include building infrastructure, reforming institutions, and promoting access to healthcare and education. MCC grants may complement other U.S. and international development programs. The MCC utilizes two primary types of grants: compacts and threshold programs.

Compacts are large, 5-year grants for countries that pass MCC’s eligibility criteria; while threshold programs are smaller grants awarded to countries that come close to passing these criteria and are committed to improving their policy performance.

Liberia began benefiting from the MCC in July 2010, with the launch of a three-year, US$15 million threshold grant, which ended in December 2013. Then in January 2016, the MCC and Liberia launched a five-year, US$257 million compact aimed at encouraging economic growth and reducing poverty in Liberia by addressing the inadequate access to reliable and affordable electricity in the country and poor quality of road infrastructure. The bulk of the money was spent on resuscitating the Mt. Coffee Hydropower Plant. The compact was completed in January 2021.

Weah’s Compact Curse

Since its inception in 2017, the current administration under President George Weah, has been opting to secure a second compact. This latest MCC report is again a major setback in the country’s quest to re-enlist as expectations were high for a positive outcome this year.

Following the release of last year’s report, Liberia’s Finance and Development Planning Minister Samuel D. Tweah expressed optimism that the nation will perform greatly under the MCC program this year.

He told the Liberia News Agency the country has made significant strides to ensure that it pass if not all but most of the indicators on the MCC scorecard in the future.

He pointed out that for this to happen, more attention needed to pay towards addressing the indicators that are mainly judged from an intangible standpoint.

“We are undoubtedly going to pass next year,” Tweah emphasized, while refuting widespread rumors that failing the MCC scorecard is an indication that the country is losing revenue.

“Different entities have to pay attention to the policy space, it is not just about doing something it is about doing something that has an impact on multiple variables that the bureaucrats in the ministries and everybody have to pay attention to.”

Not only Minister Tweah was upbeat about Liberia’s prospect this year.

Speaking in his monthly press roundtable after the release of the 2021 MCC Scorecard in November at the U.S. Embassy near Monrovia, Ambassador McCarthy commended Liberia for scoring well in some of the indicators that other countries struggled to pass, including political rights, civil liberties, and freedom of information.

However, Ambassador McCarthy urged the country to redouble its efforts in strengthening the area of governance identified in the scorecard to stand a better chance to be awarded a second MCC Compact.

“We urge Liberia to redouble its efforts to strengthen areas of governance identified in the scorecard, with particular focus on taking concrete steps to combat corruption sustainably increasing the overall number of indicators passed,” he said.

Back then, he said, at the Weah administration’s urging, the Legislature has passed some ‘excellent’ legislation devolving power out to the counties, and down to the municipal level. Actual Level implementation of that new funding approach would go a long to increasing transparency and responsiveness in government funding.

He added: “Not only would concrete gains in combatting corruption greatly improve Liberia’s chance of being awarded a second chance MCC Compact, but it would also be low-hanging fruit for demonstrated progress towards pledged goals in this year’s Summit for Democracy.”

In all this, political and Economic observers, say, the passage of Liberia of the Millennium Compact Challenge (MCC), the scorecard will now set the stage for massive international support from its traditional ally the United States, in the areas of Electricity water, sanitation, and other development across Liberia.