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Malawi is among 12 countries that have qualified for the United States government’s Millennium Challenge Account Threshold Funding, under which the selected countries will be eligible to apply for funding to improve performance in areas of governmental transparency and fiscal responsibility.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) established the Threshold Funding Programme to support countries that were close to qualifying for Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) assistance of $15 billion, and have demonstrated a commitment to undertake policy reforms necessary to improving conditions for development.
The Threshold Programme presents an opportunity for countries to work on improving performance in MCC policy indicators, such as investing in health, education and governmental accountability.
“The MCC stated that simply participating in the Threshold Programme would not guarantee eligibility for MCA assistance, but asserted that eligibility would be judged only on concrete efforts made by participating governments,” the Embassy of the United States America said in a statement.
Government spokesman Ken Lipenga described the development as welcome.
“That the Malawi economy is in bad shape goes without saying. Actually you do not need an economist to say so, you simply have to see it on the streets. So when development like these happen, we can only bid them welcome,” said Lipenga.
He pointed out government must behave not to please donors but because it is necessary for the country.
In May this year, while president Bakili Muluzi was in office, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) boards of directors selected 16 countries to submit proposals for the aid from the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). Malawi was not one of them.
The development just vindicated a warning by former United States Ambassador to Malawi Steven Browning. He saw it coming way back in December last year when he advised the Malawi government to control corruption or the country would miss out on an aid package of $15 million from his government.
Briefing reporters at the State Department’s Foreign Press Centre in Washington, MCC Chief Executive officer Paul Applegarth said the countries selected, out of 63 of the world’s poorest, had performed better than their peers in each of three categories of indicators.
The indicators in question, according to Applegarth, are: “encouraging economic freedom, investing in people, and ruling justly — with emphasis on anti corruption reforms.”
Malawi is one of the world’s poorest countries.
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