Will Sierra Leone enter implementation stage to start receiving whooping $ 480 million MCC Compact bounty under President Bio, with all his corruption and human rights abuses ?

December 22, 2021 Publisher and Chief Executive Officer KABS KANU ACTION NEWS, COMMENTARY, Uncategorized 0

By Kabs Kanu


For yet another year, Sierra Leone has been told by the Millennium Challenge Corporation ( MCC ) to continue developing its compact program and no green light has been given for entry into the implementation phase and the start of the disbursement of the U.S $ 480 million bounty the country won when it became eligible for the MCC Compact Award.


All ears in the SLPP government were glued to Washington DC on Tuesday December 14 when the MCC held its all-important annual December Board Meeting ( where decisions are made to qualify countries for the compact and threshold awards and when those who have already been selected enter the implementation stage and start receiving monies won for earmarked projects ).

The SLPP was waiting for an announcement from the meeting that Sierra Leone had entered the implementation stage , but at the end of the meeting however, it was the same, old story. ‘Sierra Leone should continue developing compact.’ In fact, Sierra Leone was not on the agenda for discussion.

While the huge windfall had already been won , It is now obvious that the 5-stage process of developing compact is being prolonged for Sierra Leone and government officials are beginning to worry that the five – year implementation process and disbursement of compact money may not happen during the tenure of this President Maada Bio and SLPP government. While Sierra Leone was reselected for the compact this year, it is not a guarantee that she will ultimately enter the implementation stage, at least during the tenure of this SLPP government.

This is because being compact eligible is not the same as finally signing the compact agreement and entering the implantation phrase. Along the line, a country may lose its eligibility to continue in the program. According to the MCC, once a country is selected, it is continuously assessed annually and it is expected to maintain or improve its scores in the indicators. Failure to do so may lead to suspension or expulsion from the program.

The good news for the SLPP government is that this year , the MCC declared that it improved its scores and maintained passes in the important areas of fighting corruption and granting citizens their rights. The bad news is that more than half of the citizens of Sierra Leone do not agree with the MCC. and thought that from evidence on the ground, the SLPP is performing very poorly and deserved to have failed in these two and other indicators. Successive government audit services reports have indicted the Bio government of horrific corruption and grand theft of the country’s resources even by the president, Maada Bio and his wife, Fatima Bio. This year’s audit report, which was released in Sierra Leone on the eve of this crucial MCC meeting on Tuesday found the SLPP culpable in worse financial mismanagement and blatant thieving of the country’s funds.

Everyday, there are banner headlines of massive and alarming government corruption in newspapers and media outlets. The government has also been accused of woeful human rights abuses by citizens, newspapers, political parties ,civil society groups and the U.S State Department. The Police has engaged in politically – motivated killings of civilians protesting for their rights. The Bio government should not have even been declared compact eligible, according to angry citizens and journalists on the social media . Sierra Leoneans continue to wonder how the MCC arrived at the scores.

Another bad news , which is fueling fears among SLPP government officials that they might not get the money during their tenure is the system of continuous assessment of eligibility . According to the MCC, “ Even after a country has been selected for compact eligibility or threshold program assistance, MCC regularly reviews its partner countries’ policy performance throughout the development and implementation of a compact or threshold program. As part of this review, MCC may engage in a policy dialogue with partner countries, coordinating with our U.S. Government colleagues at the State Department, USAID, and U.S. embassies regarding the country’s commitment and adherence to the MCC selection criteria.” With the volume of everyday bombshells in the media about the government’s horrible human rights records, the tyrannical policies of President Bio and the escalating corruption and economic crimes being committed, it is not a remote possibility that the State Department, USAID and U.S .Embassy


Sierra Leone first became compact eligible in 2013 during the tenure of the APC government, led by President Ernest Koroma but the money is still forthcoming.

MCC released the following statement after the Buard meeting

MCC’s Board Selects Belize, Zambia for Grant Assistance

For Immediate Release

December 15, 2021

Contact: 202-521-3880
Email: [email protected]

WASHINGTON (Dec. 15, 2021) – The Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) Board of Directors held its quarterly meeting yesterday and selected Belize and Zambia as newly eligible to develop MCC compacts—the agency’s five-year grant program.

As part of its annual discussion on country selection, MCC’s Board also reviewed the policy performance of eligible and previously selected countries and received an update on the status of the $500 million MCC-Nepal Compact.

“I am excited to announce MCC’s new partnerships with Belize and Zambia,” said MCC’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Mahmoud Bah. “These governments have demonstrated a clear commitment to democratic governance, investing in people, and pursuing economic freedom. We look forward to working together to develop programs that reduce poverty and enable sustainable and inclusive economic growth.”

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. 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.

Zambia completed a prior compact with MCC in 2018 and demonstrates strong performance on MCC’s scorecard. 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’s Board of Directors also reselected Indonesia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Timor-Leste for compact development; and Kenya and Kiribati for threshold program development. The Board reaffirmed its support for continuing compact development in Kosovo. In addition, the Board reselected Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, and Benin as eligible for concurrent compact programs for regional integration. However, 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.

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 program with Ethiopia while welcoming the opportunity to renew engagement with Ethiopia in the future if conditions permit.

Finally, MCC’s Board of Directors received an update and discussed the progress to date of the $500 million MCC-Nepal Compact. The Board of Directors made note of the commitment by the Government of Nepal to seek to ratify the compact in the near term.

Find out more about MCC’s selection process on our  Who We Select  web page.

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The Millennium Challenge Corporation is an independent U.S. 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.

We bring you excerpts from the MCC how the Compact process operares


Suspension or Termination

Selection initiates a multi-year partnership dedicated to pursuing economic growth and poverty reduction through the development and implementation of a compact. MCC monitors the policy performance of compact eligible countries throughout the year. Once a country is selected, MCC expects it to maintain or improve its performance on the indicators, as well as its commitment to good governance more broadly.

The Millennium Challenge Act does not require MCC to determine a country with a current compact as eligible annually, but compact-eligible countries that have not yet signed a compact are reselected each fiscal year during the time it takes to develop their compact.

A country remains eligible for MCC funds unless the Board suspends or terminates the country from eligibility.

Not Meeting the Criteria

MCC recognizes that a compact-eligible country can generally maintain or even improve policy performance, but not meet the formal eligibility criteria in a given year due to any one or a combination of the following factors:

  • Graduation from one scorecard income group to another due to increased GNI per capita;
  • Introduction of new indicators or new methodologies;
  • Improvements in the availability or quality of data;
  • Rising income-group medians;
  • Slight declines in performance.

None of these factors are likely to be serious enough to warrant a suspension of eligibility. If an eligible country does not meet the criteria in a given year but has not demonstrated a policy reversal or a pattern of actions inconsistent with the eligibility criteria, MCC may ask it to take steps to improve its performance and to demonstrate its commitment to meeting the eligibility criteria.

If a country does demonstrate a significant policy reversal, MCC may issue a warning, or suspend or terminate eligibility and/or assistance. Because of data lags and gaps, this pattern of actions need not be captured in the indicators for MCC to take action.

Suspension or Termination of Compact Eligibility or Threshold Program Assistance

Even after a country has been selected for compact eligibility or threshold program assistance, MCC regularly reviews its partner countries’ policy performance throughout the development and implementation of a compact or threshold program. As part of this review, MCC may engage in a policy dialogue with partner countries, coordinating with our U.S. Government colleagues at the State Department, USAID, and U.S. embassies regarding the country’s commitment and adherence to the MCC selection criteria.

According to MCC’s statute, a country may have its eligibility for assistance suspended or terminated if the country has:

  • Engaged in activities contrary to the national security interests of the United States;
  • Engaged in a pattern of actions inconsistent with MCA eligibility criteria; or
  • Failed to adhere to its responsibilities under a MCC program agreement.

For additional information, please see MCC’s Policy on Suspension and Termination.

Overview of the MCC Compact
Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compacts are five-year agreements through which the United States provides grants to partner countries to support programs to reduce poverty through economic growth. MCC compacts are designed to target key constraints to economic growth and poverty reduction, and generate increased income for beneficiaries. Key constraints vary by country, and accordingly MCC compacts have funded a wide variety of projects in infrastructure (e.g., roads, power, ports, water, and sanitation), agriculture, irrigation, property rights, education, health, and financial services.
Countries seeking to sign a compact with MCC must first be selected as eligible by MCC’s Board of Directors (the Board). Eligible countries are responsible for the development of the compact, to which they are expected to commit significant financial resources and high-level attention.
Countries must remain eligible for MCC assistance until a compact is signed. MCC’s Board makes annual eligibility determinations on the basis of a country’s demonstrated commitment to just and democratic governance, economic freedom, and investments in people. Other factors include the availability of funding, MCC’s opportunity to reduce poverty and generate economic growth, and, if applicable, a country’s performance on a prior compact. For more information, see MCC’s Report for Determining the Eligibility of Candidate Countries.
Principles of Compact Development
Several principles are key to ensuring countries develop successful compact proposals. Eligible countries should demonstrate country ownership and commitment by providing leadership, mobilizing resources, and incorporating broad groups of stakeholders and potential beneficiaries throughout the compact development process. Countries should focus on economic growth by directly confronting the main constraints to private investment, even when difficult public policy decisions may be involved, including policy and institutional issues that may be the root causes of these constraints. Compact programs should be based upon strong program logic that clearly ties proposed projects to measurable results and high economic returns in terms of increased incomes for beneficiaries. Well-developed compact projects also have manageable technical, financial, environmental and social risks and allow for timely implementation within a fixed five-year compact term, given each country’s own oversight and management capacities.
The Compact Development Process
To develop a compact program, eligible countries typically follow a five-phase process. During Phase 1, an eligible country works with MCC to undertake preliminary analyses of constraints to growth and poverty reduction. During Phase 2, the eligible country identifies the root causes behind key constraints, and develops the program logic and proposes investment projects to address those issues. The most promising projects are further developed and appraised during Phase 3. MCC and the eligible country agree on the terms of the proposed program and sign the compact during Phase 4. Preparations for compact entry into force then begin in Phase 5. Once the compact enters into force, the fixed five year implementation period begins.
For more information on MCC Compacts and the Compact Development Process, visit https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/compact-development-guidanc

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