Liberia to receive US$256m MCC grant

Liberia is to shortly receive in access of US$256 million from the United States of America through the Millennium Challenge Corporation or MCC compact program.

The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning says the grant will be received after accomplishing the MCC Compact eligibility threshold following government’s performance on key governance indicators and the successful implementation of a compact threshold program in 2013.

The compact negotiated between the two governments will provide Liberia a grant in the amount of 256.7 million US Dollars to fund projects which constitute the largest contribution to the rehabilitation of the Mt. Coffee Hydro Power Plant.

It will also fund the rehabilitation of the water intake and pipeline from Mt. Coffee to Millsburg, construction of regional road maintenance centers in River Gee and Tubmanburg, as well as erection of an LEC Training Center, the release adds.

As Liberia is expected to sign the compact in early October 2015 in Washington D.C., the Finance Ministry says the MCC compact will provide significant resources in further transforming the Liberian economy leading to increased employment and poverty reduction.

The MFDP release noted that government’s attainment of the MCC compact threshold also marks the Sirleaf Administration’s serious commitment to good governance and the successful implementation of important policy and regulatory reforms necessary to stimulate private investment.

The MCC Compact Program in Liberia is implemented through a Compact Development Core team headed by former Foreign Minister Mr. Monie Captan, under the leadership and direction of Liberia’s Minister of Finance and Development Planning Honorable Amara M. Konneh.

The projects funded under the MCC compact will be implemented over a five-year period through a special purpose agency to be created by the Government. The agency will be known as the Millennium Challenge Account – Liberia or MCA-Liberia.

The MCC is an independent, bilateral U.S. Government foreign aid agency established by Congress that is based on the principle that aid is most effective when it reinforces good governance and economic prosperity.

In 2010, the MCC and government of Liberia signed a $15 million threshold program grant agreement that focused on improving land rights and access, increasing girls’ primary education enrollment and retention, and improving Liberia trade policy and practices.

Recently a Government of Liberia delegation entered into compact negotiations with the MCC from July 28 to 30, 2015 in Washington D.C. Previous MCC compact projects in Africa have seen Ghana, Tanzania, Morocco, and Benin, among beneficiary countries.-Press Release