BELIZE CITY, BELIZE, Thurs. Mar. 17, 2022– A delegation from the U.S. Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), led by MCC Chief Executive Officer Alice Albright, along with Deputy Vice President for Europe, Asia, Pacific, and Latin America, Mr. Jonathan Brooks, held a media press brief this morning at the Radisson Hotel to introduce next steps for the development of a compact grant for Belize.
During their three-day visit the MCC team met with Prime Minister John Briceño and signed an agreement for US$750K that will be used to set up a special unit which will identify projects and policies that will help Belize’s economy. A focal point of the discussion panel, which included Leyla Moses-Ones, Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy of Belize, and Dr. Osmond Martinez, Minister of Economic Development, was MCC’s analytical and collaborative approach to fighting poverty through economic growth and the next steps in the compact program development process.
According to www.mcc.gov , the Millennium Challenge Corporation is a bilateral US foreign aid agency established by the U.S. Congress in 2004 to apply a new philosophy toward foreign aid, after President George W. Bush called for a new compact for development with accountability for both rich and poor countries in 2002.
According to the MCC’s guiding principles, before Belize could be eligible to receive assistance the MCC’s Board had to examine its performance on 17 independent and transparent policy indicators. The MCC requires GOB to identify its priorities for achieving sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. The MCC teams then work in close partnership with Belize to refine the proposed programs.
From the implementation of the MCC in 2008, to 2021, Belize failed to meet the criteria, with our annual GDP exceeding the threshold. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted our overall economic growth Belize now qualifies as an MCC candidate and will be receiving MCC funding over the course of the next 5 years (2023-2027).
According to the official MCC press release, “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.”
MCC’s Board of Directors selected Belize as an eligible candidate to develop an MCC compact program in December 2021. Compacts are five-year agreements between MCC and an eligible country to fund specific programs that target key constraints to economic growth. Since Belize was awarded as a selected Candidate, GOB will set up its own local MCA team which will be overseen by the Ministry of Economic Development to hire professional consultants to manage and oversee all aspects of implementation. Monitoring of funds is rigorous and transparent, often through independent fiscal agents.
“The United States is committed to working with our partners in the Belizean government to bring greater prosperity and support good governance for the benefit of all the citizens of this great nation,” Leyla Moses-Ones said. “We look forward to getting started on the compact development process.”
To learn more about Millennium Challenge Corporation and Belize’s future projects and
proposals, visit the MCC website page at https://www.mcc.gov/