Govt negotiating MCC compact

Government says it is negotiating the second compact of the United States of America (USA) Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) the country missed out due to poor governance and corruption.

Presenting the K1 504 trillion 2018/19 National Budget in Parliament on Friday, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe said the MCC compact improved the country’s energy sector, most notably in transmission and distribution systems.

Malawi failed to qualify for another compact last December. The current compact ends on September 30 this year.

But in his budget statement delivered on Friday, Gondwe acknowledged the role of the MCC compact in reforming the energy sector.

Said Gondwe: “In addition, the rehabilitation of the first hydro-power plant in the country—the Nkula A increased the country’s generation capacity. However, I wish to remind this honourable House that the Millennium Challenge Compact [MCC] with Malawi will come to an end on 30 September 2018. The government has already started negotiating with the MCC on the second compact.”

After Malawi lost out on the compact, US Embassy public affairs officer Edward J. Monster said the MCC was strict on examining a country’s commitment in combating corruption because it undermines growth.

Minister of Information and Communications Technology Nicholas Dausi also told The Nation that government was going to carefully study the benchmarks and concerns raised so that the country should qualify for the next compact.n