After several failed attempts by the former President Koroma led APC government, the President Bio led Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) government has finally passed the Millennium Challenge Corporation, MCC, FY20 scorecard.

The report, published on Friday and presented to the President by Maria Brewer, the American Ambassador to Sierra Leone, states that Sierra Leone did very well in control of corruption, ruling justly and investing in people with pass marks in guaranteeing democratic rights, civil liberties, the rule of law, health and primary education expenditures.

The country also made great progress in economic freedom with pass marks in trade policy, gender in the economy and business start-up.
Presenting the Report to President Bio at State House, Ambassador Brewer said that she was very happy and proud to be able to share with the President that the Government of Sierra Leone had passed the MCC Scorecard 2019.

Receiving the Report, President Bio remarked that he was pleased that Sierra Leone was able to meet certain requirements and standard benchmarks and promised that his government would do more to meet the other indicators on the scorecard.

He applauded Vice President Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, who supervises the work of the MCC, and commended the entire membership of the Millennium Challenge Coordinating Unit in Sierra Leone, for the achievement.

The Compact Committee chaired by the United States Secretary of State will meet in first week December to determine the funds that will be made available to the country targeting energy and water sectors.

The MCC is an initiative of the United States government, designed to provide aid to developing countries to fight widespread poverty through economic growth. The MCC scorecard consists of 20 indicators under three broad categories: Economic Freedom, Ruling Justly, and Investing in People.

The ‘Control of Corruption’ Indicator falls under the Ruling Justly Category. ACC under Ben Kaifala’s leadership helped Sierra Leone in 2018 to score 71 percent in the corruption scorecard, the strongest performance in the MCC country assessment since the scorecard was introduced in 2004.

MCC partners only with low and lower-middle-income countries that demonstrate commitment to good governance. MCC determines country eligibility through a series of quantitative, third-party indicators that assess policy performance. These indicators fall into the three broad areas: ruling justly, investing in people, and economic freedom. MCC compiles these indicators into country “scorecards,” that the agency’s board of directors uses to inform its annual eligibility decisions.