***October 27, 2008; 7:45 am; Complete Text of 2008 Annual Report***

***[Graphic Designer Note: More streamlined and compact; less white
space and more graphics intensive; does NOT need to follow last year's
model, especially as this is a transition yea]{.mark}r***

**[Ambassador comments:]{.mark}**

-   **[Better Rice photo]{.mark}**

-   **[Use new logo]{.mark}**

-   **[Use recycled paper]{.mark}**

-   **[NO IG-nonsense should be included]{.mark}**

[]{.mark}

**Millennium Challenge Corporation**

**Making a Difference**

**2008 Annual Report**

**October 1, 2007-September 30, 2008**

**TABLE OF CONTENTS**

-   **Executive Summary**

-   **Message from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Chair of the
    Board**

-   **Message from Ambassador John J. Danilovich, Chief Executive
    Officer**

-   **Section 1: Expectations that Make a Difference**

    -   *Mission*

    -   *Programs*

    -   *Leadership*

-   **Section 2: A Different Model**

    -   *Selection*

    -   *Development*

    -   *Implementation*

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-   **Section 3: Results that Make a Difference**

    -   *Results: Policy Reforms that Make a Difference*

        -   *Fighting corruption*

        -   *Deepening democracy*

        -   *Empowering women*

        -   *Engaging the private sector*

        -   *Building trade capacity*

    -   *Results: Compact and Threshold Program Progress that Makes a
        Difference*

        -   *Program Results*

        -   *Africa*

            -   *Regional Summary*

            -   *Success Stories*

        -   *Eurasia and the Pacific*

            -   *Regional Summary*

            -   *Success Stories*

        -   *Latin America*

            -   *Regional Summary*

            -   *Success Stories*

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-   **Financial Audit and Management's Comments**

    -   *Message from the Acting Vice President of the Department of
        Administration and Finance*

-   **Appendices**

    -   *Appendix A: CEO Report to Congress*

    -   *Appendix B: Individual Compact Country Highlights
        **[\[Individual compact QSRs to be added\]]{.mark}***

        -   *Africa*

        -   *Eurasia and the Pacific*

        -   *Latin America*

    -   *Appendix C: Audited Financial Report **[\[Matt McLean to decide
        what version.\]]{.mark}***

> []{.mark}

**EXECUTIVE SUMMARY**

![](media/image1.wmf){width="1.2291666666666667in"
height="1.6354166666666667in"}***Cristiane Ratsia Anne Marie***, a
mother of three, is growing her business, increasing her income, and
standing on her own with access to new microcredit loans provided with
the help of Madagascar's Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)
compact.  With her first loan already repaid, she is on her second and
is planning to open a clothing store.  Onion grower ***Jorge Anibal
Flores*** is achieving higher yields, lower unit costs, and increased
income because of the direct technical assistance he is receiving
through Honduras's compact with MCC.  Nearby, fellow Honduran and single
mother ***Modesta Rodriquez*** struggles to support her family by
washing and ironing in a makeshift home along the *CA-5 North Highway*. 
Under the country's comprehensive resettlement plan associated with the
expansion of this major thoroughfare, drawn up with assistance and
financing from MCC, Modesta accepted in-kind compensation so she can
move from the side of the highway to safer housing with significantly
improved living conditions. 

***Cristiane, Jorge,*** and ***Modesta*** are just three of the millions
of people who will experience a meaningful, tangible difference in their
lives because MCC is delivering U.S. Government development assistance
in an innovative, demanding, and different way. By incorporating the
innovation and patience necessary for long-term sustainable development,
MCC's approach has taken root and is bearing results. From farmers in
Nicaragua investing in their farms' productivity because they now have
secure land titles, to children and young adults in Burkina Faso, Ghana,
and El Salvador attending school---from business owners and residents in
Georgia tapping into a reliable energy source thanks to an upgraded gas
pipeline, to women in Madagascar using microloans to grow their small
businesses---MCC ***is*** stimulating growth and reducing poverty by
partnering with poor countries committed to change.

The ***2008 Annual Report***---covering the period from October 1, 2007
to September 30, 2008---explains what makes MCC's partnerships so
different, and so successful.

-   The ***first section*** spotlights the MCC difference with snapshots
    of our mission and core principles that set MCC apart, the status of
    our compacts and threshold programs, the sectors funded through MCC
    grants, our overall financial picture, and our leadership and senior
    management structure.

-   The ***second section*** explains the MCC model and our unique
    approach to the delivery of U.S. development assistance, grounded in
    a performance-based selection process, country-led development, and
    results-driven implementation. MCC maintains that aid is most
    effective when it is invested in countries committed to practicing
    sound policies, leading their development, and delivering tangible
    results.

-   The ***third section*** captures early results in partner countries
    worldwide, results that are at the very core of making a difference
    in the lives of the poor.

By the end of fiscal year 2008, MCC's commitment to making a difference
in the lives of the poor resulted in ***18 MCC compacts*** with
countries in Africa, Central America, Eurasia, and the Pacific totaling
over \$6.3 billion and ***20 MCC threshold programs,*** including MCC's
first *Stage II*, or second, threshold program, in countries worldwide
totaling an additional \$440 million. With these grants, partner
countries are

-   issuing land titles,

-   increasing farmer incomes through better agriculture techniques and
    programs,

-   creating jobs,

-   increasing market access,

-   improving infrastructure, such as seaports, bridges, airports,
    roads, storage facilities, and irrigation canals,

-   strengthening small-scale fisheries and artisan training,

-   opening health clinics,

-   containing the spread of HIV/AIDS and other diseases,

-   building and operating schools,

-   expanding vocational training,

-   strengthening financial services and access to credit,

-   promoting tourism as a means to growth and poverty reduction,

-   and improving water and sanitation services.

The aggressive implementation of these compacts and threshold programs
is bringing new economic opportunities, raising standards of living, and
creating a more prosperous future for the world's poorest citizens.

[***\[Designer note: Envision that these messages would be one on top of
the other\]***]{.mark}

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="0.78125in" height="1.03125in"}**Message
from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Chair of the Board of
Directors**

At the signing ceremony of Burkina Faso's \$480.9 million Millennium
Challenge compact, I concluded my remarks by recognizing that ***the***
***future of the Millennium Challenge Corporation is bright.***

It is bright because of the successful results emerging from MCC
compacts and threshold programs. These are solutions that span the globe
and tackle specific barriers to sustainable development determined by
partner countries. As of the end of fiscal year 2008, over \$6.7 billion
has been invested in these programs to fulfill MCC's mission of poverty
reduction through sustainable economic growth. It is bright because of
the innovative vision for foreign assistance that MCC practices, a
vision that sees how effective aid can be when it is provided to
countries that govern justly, invest in their people, and foster
economic freedom. It is bright because of the excellence of MCC's
leadership and staff, who work in close partnership with countries
worldwide to replace poverty with prosperity.

With ongoing support from Congress, the next administration, and the
development community, I am confident not only of MCC's bright future
but also of the remarkably meaningful difference MCC will continue to
make in the lives of the world's poorest. MCC is one of the best
examples of America's positive international engagement, forging
partnerships for progress that make a difference in the fight against
global poverty.

*Condoleezza Rice*

*Chair*

**[[Ambassador reviewing/clearing his letter: due
10/28/2008]{.underline}]{.mark}**

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="0.75in"
height="1.0416666666666667in"}**[Message from Ambassador John J.
Danilovich, Chief Executive Officer]{.mark}**

[In the short span of four years, the investments made by the Millennium
Challenge Corporation in some of the world's poorest countries are
showing impressive results. Upgrades completed to Georgia's gas pipeline
have created a reliable energy source for businesses and homes. Roads
constructed in Cape Verde are integrating internal markets and reducing
transportation costs. Land titles have been distributed in Nicaragua.
Farmers have been trained in Armenia to improve their agricultural
productivity. Elementary schools are rehabilitated and operational in
Ghana, and students are attending college through scholarships funded by
MCC in El Salvador. MCC-funded credit counselors in Madagascar have
helped women secure microloans to grow their small businesses. ***The
proof of MCC's strong success is in these unfolding results aimed at
stimulating growth and reducing poverty. ***]{.mark}

[]{.mark}

[Results during fiscal year 2008 confirm that MCC is making an ongoing
difference in the lives of the world's poor as an on-the-ground reality
that is funding antipoverty, pro-growth strategies in partner countries
worldwide. MCC's insistence that countries practice sound policies and
build their capacity to help themselves has changed expectations about
how development is done by linking good policies and country empowerment
to sustainable results. The effectiveness of aid hinges on how well it's
delivered. The *2008 Annual Report* chronicles how MCC contributes in
significant ways to the effective delivery of U.S. development
assistance.]{.mark}

[]{.mark}

[As we move ahead, MCC looks forward to continued cooperation with
Congress, fellow government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, the
private sector, and friends and experts throughout the development
community to contribute even more constructively to helping partner
countries pull themselves out of poverty and onto the path to
opportunity and prosperity.]{.mark}

[]{.mark}

*[John J. Danilovich]{.mark}*

*[Chief Executive Officer]{.mark}*

**EXPECTATIONS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE**

***The MCC difference defined by our mission...***

***Reducing poverty through growth***

The Millennium Challenge Corporation is a targeted tool in America's
toolbox of development assistance, charged with the singular mission of
***reducing poverty through sustainable economic growth***. To do this,
MCC expects more from ourselves, our partners, and the assistance we
deliver.

***Different expectations for ourselves***

\* MCC delivers development assistance in a unique and demanding way
that is changing not only the conversation about U.S. foreign assistance
but also the practice of how to make aid most effective.

\* MCC's model demands the new realization that development occurs not
just from the completion of a program but from a partner country's
leadership of it.

\* MCC incorporates over half a century of best practices in
development, challenging countries to practice sound policies and build
their capacity to lead their development.

***Different expectations for our partners***

\* MCC raises expectations by partnering with those poor countries
committed to good governance, to stamping out corruption, to investing
in the health and education of their citizens, and to economic freedom.

\* MCC changes the expectations, supporting countries that are
championing *their* development efforts with MCC funds, based on *their*
homegrown solutions in extensive consultation with *their* citizens.

\* MCC expects countries to deliver tangible results that will make a
difference in the lives of the poor.

***Different expectations for our assistance***

\* MCC boosts conditions for trade, investment, and entrepreneurship
that fuel the private sector's ingenuity as the ultimate engine of
growth.

\* MCC supports America's security and foreign policy objectives by
working toward a safer and more prosperous world, where pockets of
poverty do not become breeding grounds for extremism.

\* MCC's "smart aid" approach is one of the best examples of America's
"smart power" strategy for global engagement.

***The MCC difference defined by our programs...***

***Portfolio of MCC Compacts and Threshold Programs***

*(As of the end of fiscal year 2008)*

+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| ***COMPACTS     | *  |        | **Entry    |     |                 | [ |
| in***           | *C |        | into       |     |                 | ] |
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+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| **COMPACT       | *  |        | **ENTRY    |     |                 | [ |
| with**          | *G |        | INTO FORCE |     |                 | ] |
|                 | RA |        | on**       |     |                 | { |
|                 | NT |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 | AM |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 | OU |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 | NT |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 | of |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 | ** |        |            |     |                 | } |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 |   |
|                 | ** |        |            |     |                 |   |
|                 | *( |        |            |     |                 |   |
|                 | in |        |            |     |                 |   |
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|                 | io |        |            |     |                 |   |
|                 | ns |        |            |     |                 |   |
|                 | )* |        |            |     |                 |   |
|                 | ** |        |            |     |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 1\. Madagascar  | \  |        | July 27,   |     |                 | [ |
|                 | $1 |        | 2005       |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 09 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 | .8 |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 2\. Honduras    | \  |        | September  |     |                 | [ |
|                 | $2 |        | 29, 2005   |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 15 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 | .0 |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 3\. Cape Verde  | \  |        | October    |     |                 | [ |
|                 | $1 |        | 17, 2005   |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 10 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 | .0 |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 4\. Nicaragua   | \  |        | May 26,    |     |                 | [ |
|                 | $1 |        | 2006       |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 75 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 | .1 |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 5\. Georgia     | \  |        | April 7,   |     |                 | [ |
|                 | $2 |        | 2006       |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 95 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 | .3 |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 6\. Benin       | \  |        | October 6, |     |                 | [ |
|                 | $3 |        | 2006       |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 07 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 | .3 |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 7\. Vanuatu     | \$ |        | April 28,  |     |                 | [ |
|                 | 65 |        | 2006       |     |                 | ] |
|                 | .7 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 8\. Armenia     | \  |        | September  |     |                 | [ |
|                 | $2 |        | 29, 2006   |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 35 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 | .7 |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 9\. Ghana       | \  |        | February   |     |                 | [ |
|                 | $5 |        | 16, 2007   |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 47 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 | .0 |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 10\. Mali       | \  |        | September  |     |                 | [ |
|                 | $4 |        | 17, 2007   |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 60 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 | .8 |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 11\. El         | \  |        | September  |     |                 | [ |
| Salvador        | $4 |        | 20, 2007   |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 61 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 | .0 |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 12\. Mozambique | \  |        | September  |     | []{.mark}       | [ |
|                 | $5 |        | 22, 2008   |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 06 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 | .9 |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 13\. Lesotho    | \  |        | September  |     |                 | [ |
|                 | $3 |        | 17, 2008   |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 62 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 | .6 |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 14\. Morocco    | \  |        | September  |     |                 | [ |
|                 | $6 |        | 15, 2008   |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 97 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 | .5 |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 15\. Mongolia   | \  |        | September  |     | []{.mark}       | [ |
|                 | $2 |        | 17, 2008   |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 84 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 | .9 |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 16\. Tanzania   | \  |        | September  |     | []{.mark}       | [ |
|                 | $6 |        | 15, 2008   |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 98 |        |            |     |                 | { |
|                 | .0 |        |            |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 17\. Burkina    | \  |        | *Entry     |     | []{.mark}       | [ |
| Faso            | $4 |        | into Force |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 80 |        | projected  |     |                 | { |
|                 | .9 |        | for 4^th^  |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        | quarter of |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        | fiscal     |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        | year 2009* |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 18\. Namibia    | \  |        | *Entry     |     | []{.mark}       | [ |
|                 | $3 |        | into Force |     |                 | ] |
|                 | 04 |        | projected  |     |                 | { |
|                 | .5 |        | for 4^th^  |     |                 | . |
|                 |    |        | quarter of |     |                 | m |
|                 |    |        | fiscal     |     |                 | a |
|                 |    |        | year 2009* |     |                 | r |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | k |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 | } |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| ***THRESHOLD    |    |        |            | **  |                 |   |
| PROGRAMS in***  |    |        |            | Thr |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | esh |                 |   |
| ***SIGNING      |    |        |            | old |                 |   |
| ORDER***        |    |        |            | Pro |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | gra |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | m:\ |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | **A |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | thr |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | esh |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | old |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | p   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | rog |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ram |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | is  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | de  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | sig |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ned |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | to  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ass |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ist |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | cou |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ntr |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ies |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | t   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | hat |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | are |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | on  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | the |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | "th |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | res |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | hol |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | d," |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | m   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ean |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ing |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | t   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | hey |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | h   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ave |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | not |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | yet |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | qua |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | lif |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ied |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | for |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | c   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | omp |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | act |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | fu  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ndi |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ng, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | but |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | de  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | mon |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | str |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ate |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | si  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | gni |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | fic |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ant |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | c   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | omm |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | itm |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ent |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | to  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | imp |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | rov |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ing |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | th  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | eir |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | pe  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | rfo |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | rma |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | nce |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | on  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | the |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | el  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | igi |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | bil |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ity |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | cr  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ite |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ria |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | for |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | f   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ull |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | c   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | omp |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | act |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | fu  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ndi |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ng. |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | Thr |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | esh |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | old |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | pr  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ogr |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ams |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | are |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | two |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | to  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | th  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ree |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ye  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ars |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | in  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | dur |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ati |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | on. |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            |     |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | A   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | *St |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | age |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | I   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | I,* |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | or  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | s   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | eco |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | nd, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | thr |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | esh |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | old |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | p   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | rog |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ram |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | is  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | de  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | sig |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ned |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | for |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | cou |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ntr |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ies |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | wh  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ose |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | thr |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | esh |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | old |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | pr  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ogr |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ams |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | are |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | e   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ndi |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ng, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | but |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | t   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | hey |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | (1) |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | h   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ave |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | yet |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | to  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | m   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | eet |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | the |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | c   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | omp |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | act |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | el  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | igi |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | bil |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ity |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | cri |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ter |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ia, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | (2) |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | h   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ave |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | suc |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ces |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | sfu |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | lly |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | im  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ple |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | men |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ted |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | th  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | eir |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | c   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | urr |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ent |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | thr |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | esh |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | old |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | pr  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ogr |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | am, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | and |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | (3) |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | co  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | nti |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | nue |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | to  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | pur |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | sue |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | a   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | pol |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | icy |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ref |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | orm |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | a   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | gen |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | da. |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| **THRESHOLD     |    | *      |            | **  |                 |   |
| PROGRAM with**  |    | *GRANT |            | SIG |                 |   |
|                 |    | AMOUNT |            | NED |                 |   |
|                 |    | of**   |            | o   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | n** |                 |   |
|                 |    | ***(in |            |     |                 |   |
|                 |    | millio |            |     |                 |   |
|                 |    | ns)*** |            |     |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 1\. Burkina     |    | \$12.9 |            | J   |                 |   |
| Faso            |    |        |            | uly |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 22, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 005 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 2\. Malawi      |    | \$20.9 |            | Sep |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | tem |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ber |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 23, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 005 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 3\. Albania     |    | \$13.9 |            | Ap  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ril |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 3,  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 006 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 4\. Tanzania    |    | \$11.2 |            | May |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 3,  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 006 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 5\. Paraguay\*  |    | \$34.6 |            | May |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 8,  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 006 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 6\. Zambia      |    | \$22.7 |            | May |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 22, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 006 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 7\. Philippines |    | \$20.7 |            | J   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | uly |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 26, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 006 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 8\. Jordan      |    | \$25.0 |            | O   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | cto |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ber |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 17, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 006 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 9\. Indonesia   |    | \$55.0 |            | No  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | vem |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ber |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 17, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 006 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 10\. Ukraine    |    | \$45.0 |            | De  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | cem |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ber |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 4,  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 006 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 11\. Moldova    |    | \$24.7 |            | De  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | cem |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ber |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 15, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 006 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 12\. Kenya      |    | \$12.7 |            | Ma  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | rch |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 23, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 007 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 13\. Uganda     |    | \$10.4 |            | Ma  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | rch |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 29, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 007 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 14\. Guyana     |    | \$6.7  |            | Aug |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ust |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 23, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 007 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 15\. São Tomé   |    | \$8.7  |            | No  |                 |   |
| and Príncipe    |    |        |            | vem |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ber |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 9,  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 007 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 16\. Kyrgyz     |    | \$16.0 |            | Ma  |                 |   |
| Republic        |    |        |            | rch |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 14, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 008 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 17\. Niger      |    | \$23.0 |            | Ma  |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | rch |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 17, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 008 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 18\. Peru       |    | \$35.6 |            | J   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | une |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 10, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 008 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 19\. Rwanda     |    | \$24.7 |            | Sep |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | tem |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ber |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 24, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 008 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+
| 20\. Albania:   |    | \$15.7 |            | Sep |                 |   |
| *Stage II*      |    |        |            | tem |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | ber |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 29, |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 2   |                 |   |
|                 |    |        |            | 008 |                 |   |
+-----------------+----+--------+------------+-----+-----------------+---+

***\* On the horizon:*** MCC received a *Stage II* threshold program
proposal from Paraguay on September 30, 2008.

**[SUMMARY/COMPILATION OF RESULTS: Barrios/Results Working Group]{.mark}
: [Insert Boxes from Scorecard]{.mark} *[October 30-31,
2008]{.underline}***

[]{.mark}

***Compacts***

*Cumulative*

Total number of compacts approved through fiscal year 2008: **18**

Total approximate value of compacts approved through fiscal year 2008:
**\$6.32 billion**

*FY 2008*

Total number of compacts approved during fiscal year 2008: **4**

Total approximate value of compacts approved during fiscal year 2008:
**\$1.77 billion**

[**Graphic design note: Upward trend charts**.]{.mark}

![](media/image4.wmf){width="6.501388888888889in"
height="4.895138888888889in"}**[Graphic design note: Change to one
decimal place in this chart.]{.mark} [Add that these amounts are in
million of US dollars.]{.mark} [Match numbers from chart.]{.mark}**

![](media/image5.wmf){width="6.499305555555556in"
height="4.569444444444445in"}

***The Compact Portfolio***

MCC funds a portfolio of compacts in various stages of implementation by
partner countries worldwide. These compacts are reducing poverty,
stimulating growth, and making a difference in the lives of the poor by:

*\* providing small farmers with land titles in* Benin*,* Madagascar,
*and* Nicaragua*, protecting their property rights and giving them
collateral for credit to expand their farming activities or build their
small businesses,*

*\* delivering a more dependable energy supply to people and businesses
in* Georgia*,*

*\* awarding scholarships to students in* El Salvador *to prepare them
to participate in the productive economy,*

*\* rehabilitating rural schools for young students in* Ghana*,*

*\* improving roads in* Armenia *and* Vanuatu*, giving farmers access to
markets for their crops,*

*\* creating opportunities through training for farmers in* Mali *and*
Honduras*,* and

*\* expanding transparency and efficiency for those working in
government ministries through an e-procurement system and improving
transportation networks in* Cape Verde.

These compact programs are working to create opportunities that will:

*\*expand the rail network in* Mongolia *to create jobs and a more
efficient way for businesses to export,*

*\* invest in artisan training and productivity in* Morocco*,*

*\* improve health clinics to benefit those living with HIV/AIDS in*
Lesotho*,*

*\* bring reliable electricity service to businesses and to the
residents of rural communities in* Tanzania*,*

*\* improve water systems in* Mozambique*, so girls and women can attend
school and work rather than spend their day fetching water,*

*\* strengthen agricultural productivity in* Burkina Faso *to help avert
future food price crises, and*

*\* improve the management and infrastructure of Etosha National Park
in* Namibia *to enhance the vitality of Namibian tourism and attract
investments in ecotourism.*

[]{.mark}

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**[Graphic design note: Within the Compact Portfolio box above, include
the following four vignettes as examples of compact successes underway
next to the appropriate country: El Salvador, Benin, Morocco, and Cape
Verde.]{.mark}**

![](media/image6.wmf){width="1.5in" height="1.475in"}**Scholarship
Opportunities**

Maria Magdalena Flores Miranda, 19, is the recipient of a pilot program
scholarship and is enrolled at the *Escuela Nacional de Agricultura
Roberto Quinones*. Maria is one of the first 110 students from El
Salvador's Northern Zone to benefit from a scholarship as part of the
MCC compact. In all, up to 3,600 deserving youth from low income
families will benefit from the competitive scholarship program.
Investing in scholarships for these students enhances their earnings and
employment opportunities, while contributing to overall economic growth
and poverty reduction. In addition to El Salvador, MCC supports
educational programs in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mongolia, Morocco, Niger,
and Namibia.

![](media/image7.wmf){width="1.625in"
height="1.261111111111111in"}**Land Tenure Reforms**

Representatives from four villages in Benin show the cards selecting
their villages to participate in the rural land tenure program, a
component of the country's \$307.3 million MCC compact. With secure land
tenure rights, the rural poor are more willing to invest in higher
yielding crops or use higher-value farming inputs, such as fertilizers.
They are able to use their property as collateral to access capital to
grow their operations. In these ways, secure tenure helps to increase
rural incomes. In addition to Benin, MCC compacts with Madagascar,
Nicaragua, Mongolia, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, and Namibia are among
those that have components aimed at securing land tenure and
strengthening property rights.

[]{.mark}

![](media/image8.jpeg){width="2.25in" height="1.5in"}**Artisan
Training**

With average monthly earnings of about \$118, artisan workers in Morocco
will invest MCC funds in their skills. These artisans will train in
production techniques and business management and will have access to
bank or microcredit loans to invest in modern kilns and pottery
workshops. They also will take advantage of improvements to Morocco's
national training system for literacy and vocational education to
benefit artisans and the general population, particularly women and
girls.

![](media/image9.jpeg){width="2.7604166666666665in"
height="2.0625in"}**Transportation Links**

Through MCC grant funding, roads have already been paved in Cape Verde,
which identified a lack of transportation infrastructure as a major
barrier to developing a common national market, decreasing production
costs, and facilitating the movement of people and goods between
islands. Cape Verde is making strategic investments in roads and small
bridges to ensure improved transportation links to social services,
employment opportunities, local markets, ports, and airports. For these
same reasons, many MCC partner countries include infrastructure upgrades
as part of their compacts.

***Potential Compacts on the Horizon***

**Moldova**, **Senegal**, **Jordan**, **Timor-Leste, Philippines,** and
**Malawi** are currently developing compacts with the hope of having
them approved and signed, pending the availability of funding and
continued performance on the selection indicators.

[]{.mark}

***Threshold Programs***

*Cumulative*

Total number of threshold programs (including *Stage II*)

approved through fiscal year 2008: **20**

Total approximate value of threshold programs

approved through fiscal year 2008: **\$440 million**

*FY 2008*

Total number of threshold programs (including *Stage II*)

approved during fiscal year 2008: **6**

Total approximate value of threshold programs

approved during fiscal year 2008: **\$124 million**

**MCC Threshold Programs \-- All Countries**

*Threshold programs address a country's policy weaknesses on a number of
the 17 indicators MCC uses to select partners. The following chart
captures the indicators central to MCC's threshold programs during
fiscal year 2008*

*as a percentage of total threshold funding.*

*See page **[16]{.mark}** for more about the* *indicators.*

![](media/image10.wmf)As of September 30, 2008

[]{.mark}

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***The Threshold Programs Portfolio***

To address specific policy weaknesses, threshold programs are:

\* *fighting corruption,*

*\* improving good governance, government effectiveness, and the rule of
law,*

*\* expanding political and civil rights,*

*\* lowering the days and costs required to start a business,*

*\* improving fiscal and trade policies,*

*\* increasing immunization rates, and*

*\* improving girls' primary education completion rate.*

[]{.mark}

![](media/image11.jpeg){width="2.0in" height="0.78125in"}

***USAID'S Role in MCC's Threshold Program***

The United States Agency for International Development serves as the
lead administrator in 19 of MCC's 20 current threshold programs and
contributes significantly to the success of MCC's threshold program.

***Threshold Program Successes***

-   Over **one half** of threshold funding to date has focused on the
    *control of* *corruption* indicator, making MCC a major funder of
    anticorruption programs.

-   To date, **eight** threshold-eligible countries---such as Burkina
    Faso, Jordan, Malawi, Moldova, Philippines, and Tanzania---have been
    selected subsequently as compact-eligible due to improvements in
    their policy performance track records.

-   ***Albania*** has made significant reforms to improve government
    administration. The newly-established electronic tax filing system
    that MCC supported has reduced interaction between tax collectors
    and taxpayers. Approximately 3,100 e-filed declarations were
    submitted between April and June 2008, compared with 90 between
    November and December 2007. Nearly 50,000 tax forms were downloaded
    by the end of June 2008 via the Internet, compared with 1,400 in
    January, which reduces opportunities for corruption and increases
    efficiencies in revenue processing. Additionally, business
    registration reforms have simplified procedures and increased
    transparency. The new *National Registration Center* has processed
    over 17,000 business registrations since opening its Tirana
    headquarters in September 2007. Over 75 percent of those businesses
    were registered in one day's time or less.

-   ***Indonesia's*** national immunization coverage has increased from
    71 to 78 percent according to 2007-2008 survey data. MCC's support
    has helped nearly three million children under the age of one
    receive measles and DPT3 vaccines in threshold program-supported
    provinces.

-   ***Paraguay's*** Supreme Court has increased efficiencies with the
    support of the threshold program. Cases now require an average of
    two and a half months for processing compared to an average of ten
    months before the threshold program began. This achievement improves
    public confidence in the rule of law. In addition, the threshold
    program also improved the tax authority's enforcement in Paraguay,
    with over 140 firms suspended through May 2008 due to non-compliance
    with tax rules. An electronic tax filing system was also launched in
    June 2008, enabling taxpayers to file online and reduce their
    contact with government officials.

-   ***Tanzania's*** threshold program has audited procurement practices
    in 20 key ministries and departments. By uncovering non-compliance
    with procurement laws, the threshold program-funded Prevention and
    Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) opened several grand
    corruption cases. Between April and June 2008, the PCCB opened 36
    new cases and obtained nine convictions on previous cases.

-   In ***Zambia,*** programmatic targets have been reached or surpassed
    in the number of days required to register a business (decrease from
    10 days to one day), to register a property sale (decrease from 70
    days to 35 days), to start a business (decrease from 35 days to 18
    days), to export goods (decrease from 60 days to 30 days), and to
    import goods (decrease from 62 days to 31 days). This improved
    efficiency is reducing opportunities for corruption.

[]{.mark}

-   In ***Burkina Faso***, nearly 16,700 Burkinabe students---55 percent
    of whom are girls---are enjoying well-ventilated classrooms, easy
    access to potable water and new latrines, comfortable desks, school
    manuals, canteens, and take-home rations. Students are also
    benefitting from the regular presence of their teachers since they
    are lodged on school premises.

-   Through ***Jordan's*** threshold program, upgrades to the automated
    customs clearance system at King Hussein Bridge and Cyber City in
    Irbid are complete. Through September 2008, this program has
    supported the upgrade at 10 of the 14 target customs centers.

***Program Financials [Nolan/Barrios]{.mark}***

**[Obligations, commitments Charts/Graphs/Numbers going up]{.mark}**

**[Cumulative and year to date financial numbers]{.mark} *[October 8,
2008]{.underline}***

[]{.mark}

[For more information: Appendix A]{.underline}

Visit Appendix A for the *CEO Report to Congress* that summarizes the
uses of all funds appropriated to MCC for fiscal year 2008.

**[Designer note: Insert latest cumulative MAP of where MCC works
globally]{.mark}**

***The MCC difference defined by our leadership....***

*MCC's Board of Directors*

MCC is managed by a Chief Executive Officer and is overseen by a
public-private Board of Directors comprised of the Secretary of State
(Chair), the Secretary of the Treasury (Vice Chair), the U.S. Trade
Representative, the U.S. Agency for International Development
Administrator, the CEO, and four individuals from the private sector
appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the U.S.
Senate. One of MCC's hallmark differences is the private sector
component of our Board and the valuable insights and expertise these
members contribute to fulfilling our mission. The private sector members
are:

-   ![](media/image12.jpeg){width="0.7798611111111111in"
    height="1.0409722222222222in"} ***Lorne Craner***, President,
    International Republican Institute

-   ![](media/image13.jpeg){width="0.7666666666666667in"
    height="1.01875in"} ***Senator William H. Frist, M.D.***, Schultz
    Class of 1951 Visiting Professor of International Economic Policy,
    Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton
    University

-   ![](media/image14.jpeg){width="0.7798611111111111in"
    height="0.9986111111111111in"} ***Kenneth Hackett***, President,
    Catholic Relief Services

-   ![](media/image15.jpeg){width="0.7798611111111111in"
    height="1.0409722222222222in"} ***Alan J. Patricof***, Founder and
    Managing Director, Greycroft, LLC

*MCC's Senior Management*

![](media/image16.png){width="6.0in" height="2.459722222222222in"}

With less than 300 employees at headquarters and an extremely limited
global imprint of just two U.S. employees (a resident country director
and a deputy resident country director) in each partner country, MCC is
designed to be a nimble and agile organization that can respond with
speed, creativity, and ingenuity.

**A DIFFERENT MODEL**

The Millennium Challenge Corporation awards grants---not loans---to
partner countries through an innovative process built upon four
fundamental principles that are essential for the effective and
efficient use of development assistance***---*g*ood policy performance,
country ownership***, ***country responsibility***, and ***tangible
results***. These principles drive the process of country selection as
well as compact development and implementation.

  ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------
  **Selection **         **Development **       **Implementation 
                                                  RESULTS**

  MCC works with          Once countries qualify  Once a partner country
  countries that are      and are selected as     has successfully gone
  committed to ruling     eligible for full MCC   through the selection
  justly, investing in    assistance because of   process and has
  their people, and       their policy            developed its own
  encouraging economic    performance, they are   approved compact, it is
  freedom. We assess a    invited to develop a    responsible for
  government's            proposal for            implementing its
  performance in these    funding---through a     compact programs and is
  three areas by using    compact agreement---to  accountable for
  objective, transparent, address their           maintaining policy
  third-party indicators  constraints to poverty  performance and
  taken from non-U.S.     reduction and economic  achieving program
  Government sources. We  growth. In keeping with results. This
  use these indicators to MCC's core principle of responsibility at the
  create a scorecard      country ownership, we   country level
  measuring a country's   expect countries to     reinforces MCC's
  policy performance      inform MCC of what they commitment to country
  among its own peer      need to achieve their   ownership. Tangible
  group in the same per   poverty reduction       results in the lives of
  capita income range.    strategies, rather than the poor are an
  Our Board of Directors  MCC selecting and       outgrowth of
  then uses these         designing the programs  successful, country-led
  scorecards to determine we think we should be   implementation, which
  and select annually     funding. We require     requires a partner
  which countries are     countries to engage in  country's willingness
  eligible to receive MCC a timely and meaningful to mobilize its own
  aid.                    consultative process    resources and talented
                          with their civil        professionals for
                          societies to determine  implementation.
                          their development       
                          priorities. This level  
                          of expectation and      
                          responsibility demanded 
                          by country ownership    
                          has changed the         
                          relationship between    
                          donor and recipient and 
                          has resulted in the     
                          development of new      
                          capacities. The process 
                          makes our partner       
                          countries the leaders   
                          of their MCC            
                          development programs.   
  ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------

***SPOTLIGHTING SELECTION***

*The Indicators*

**Core to the MCC model and what makes us different is the use of 17
independent policy indicators to evaluate a country's performance in
three categories---*ruling justly*, *investing in people*, and
*encouraging economic freedom*.** These independently developed
indicators have become the selection criteria because of their
theoretical and/or empirical link to economic growth and poverty
reduction; analytical rigor, quality, and objectivity; public
availability; broad country-coverage; comparability across countries;
and broad consistency in results from year to year. Data for the
indicators come from such non-U.S. Government sources as the World Bank
Institute, the International Monetary Fund, the World Health
Organization, UNESCO, Freedom House, and Heritage Foundation. The 17
indicators used for fiscal year 2008 included:

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **Ruling Justly**     | **Encouraging         | **Investing in        |
|                       | Economic Freedom**    | People**              |
| 1.  Civil Liberties   |                       |                       |
|                       | 1.  Inflation         | 1.  Public            |
| 2.  Political Rights  |                       |     Expenditure on    |
|                       | 2.  Fiscal Policy     |     Health            |
| 3.  Voice and         |                       |                       |
|     Accountability    | 3.  Business Start-Up | 2.  Immunization      |
|                       |                       |     Rates (DPT3 and   |
| 4.  Government        | 4.  Trade Policy      |     Measles)          |
|     Effectiveness     |                       |                       |
|                       | 5.  Regulatory        | 3.  Public            |
| 5.  Rule of Law       |     Quality           |     Expenditure on    |
|                       |                       |     Primary Education |
| 6.  Control of        | 6.  Land Rights and   |                       |
|     Corruption        |     Access            | 4.  Girls' Primary    |
|                       |                       |     Education         |
|                       |                       |     Completion Rate   |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       |                       | 5.  Natural Resource  |
|                       |                       |     Management        |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

In order to pass the eligibility criteria, countries must perform above
the median in at least half of the indicators in each of these groups
and pass the control of corruption indicator.  MCC's Board of Directors
considers the policy performance scorecard, produced annually, together
with other information that compensates for data lags, to determine
whether a country is eligible to apply for MCC assistance.

**[Designer note: Insert a Scorecard]{.mark}**

*The Threshold Program*

**For countries that demonstrate a significant commitment to meeting the
eligibility criteria but fall short on some indicators, MCC turns to a
threshold program.** This program provides further incentive for policy
reform, assisting countries become compact eligible by helping them
address specific areas of policy weakness identified in the selection
indicators. Up to ten percent of MCC's appropriation may be spent on the
threshold program.

*The Making of a Threshold Program*

**[Designer Note: Enlarge and insert threshold program chart from Page
57 of 2007 Annual Report; HOWEVER, delete the word "[again]{.underline}"
(after...MCC Investment Committee....) in the last sentence of the 3^rd^
column about "Threshold Country Plan."]{.mark}**

***SPOTLIGHTING DEVELOPMENT***

*Compact Development Process*

**MCC's distinction is in awarding grants that promote systemic change
and that are based in results-driven partnerships.** Building upon our
early years of experience, MCC added critical elements to the compact
development process during fiscal year 2008, both to strengthen the
quality of a country's proposal and to enhance readiness for
implementation. These changes include:

-   *[Constraints Analysis]{.underline}**:*** At the beginning of the
    process, MCC works with the country team to undertake a *constraints
    analysis* to identify major barriers to economic growth. This helps
    to inform and frame the consultative process and to more sharply
    focus compact proposals.

-   *[Results-focused project design tools]{.underline}***:** MCC equips
    the country team to use *results-focused project design tools* to
    strengthen its project conceptualization and planning and to
    facilitate substantive stakeholder engagement and participatory
    project design in country.

-   *[Project concept paper guidance]{.underline}**:*** To assist
    countries in submitting focused, well-prepared proposals, MCC
    provides them with specific *project concept paper guidance*, which
    also helps improve the dialogue between MCC and our partner
    countries on the potential benefits, costs, and risks of a proposed
    investment.

-   *[Peer reviews]{.underline}**:*** MCC conducts internal and external
    *peer reviews* of these country-developed concept papers to bring to
    bear best practices and lessons learned in order to strengthen the
    final compact design.

-   *[Two-staged economic analyses]{.underline}**:*** MCC works with the
    country team to conduct *two-staged economic analyses---*a
    preliminary and then a more detailed analysis---to enhance
    decision-making through an earlier assessment of potential program
    impact.

-   *[Detailed planning and analytical work up-front]{.underline}**:***
    MCC and the country team undertake more *detailed planning and
    analytical work up-front* during this enhanced compact development
    process, completing much of the environmental and social
    assessments, technical feasibility studies, and detailed engineering
    design studies so as to ensure better cost certainty and reduce
    implementation risk.

These refinements are giving a significant boost to the compact
development process. Investing more time and resources in upstream
project definition and design will lead to quicker and more predictable
disbursements, and enhance the likelihood of successfully completing a
compact on-time and within budget.

*What Countries Seek*

**The proposals for funding developed by countries are *their*
priorities for development.** By engaging in a participatory, timely,
and meaningful consultative process with the rural and urban poor,
women, private and voluntary organizations, the business community, and
other donors, countries themselves---not MCC---determine how they would
use an MCC grant. Overwhelmingly, countries are applying their MCC funds
toward rural development---to increase agricultural productivity and to
transport their goods to market through investments in roads, ports, and
bridges.

Large-scale infrastructure projects of the nature MCC partner countries
are including in their compacts require significant and critical
up-front work before construction can even begin, which usually does not
require large expenditures. Generally, the first two years of
infrastructure projects are used to conduct feasibility studies,
including environmental assessments, and to prepare engineering designs.
As part of this, project managers conduct consultations, assess and plan
to mitigate for social and environmental impacts, and prepare
resettlement and land acquisition plans. In addition, a competitive
procurement process is required to ensure fair and reasonable prices and
high quality work. All of these essential steps must occur prior to the
start of construction.

Infrastructure investments like these require time and care to ensure
that the rights of all stakeholders are respected and that the project
is implemented effectively. Partner countries are moving quickly---but
without the haste of overlooking these critical steps---to ensure the
long-term sustainability of their projects. Because infrastructure
projects have extended implementation lifecycles, significant progress
and activities at the early stages are often not evident through
disbursements alone. The rate of spending ramps up once the construction
phase begins.

*The Making of a Compact **[\[Designer's Note: Use revised Chart as of
9/3/2008 presented to BRIA and copied below: Delete title and use the
title of this section only: The Making of a Compact\]]{.mark}***

![](media/image1.wmf)*Economic Rates of Return*

**In a groundbreaking move for any government agency or donor, MCC
worked toward making the economic rate of return (ERR) spreadsheets that
were used in our funding decisions available to the public through our
website during fiscal year 2008.** Many of the files include interactive
components that allow users to change key assumptions and see how those
changes affect the compact project's ERR. This innovative web feature
was unveiled at an event on April 29, 2008 hosted by the Center for
Global Development.

As any other investor would, MCC analyzes each program to determine its
sustainability and its likely economic impact, as reflected in its ERR,
defined as a comparison of the costs and benefits of a public
investment. In MCC's analysis, the costs of a project reflect the
necessary financial expenses, including those covered by other parties.
The benefits include the increased income of a country's population or
value added by its firms due specifically to the proposed project.
Estimating the ERR of a proposed project before the investment is made
gives MCC a forecast of the project's likely economic impact. We expect
programs to generate adequate benefits in order to approve a compact
component and justify the specific investment.

ERR analyses are central to MCC's focus on results. Such an economic
assessment of program components complements both *monitoring and
evaluation planning,* which assesses performance and whether program
goals are being achieved, and *impact evaluation,* which measures in a
statistically valid way the effectiveness of our programs to impact
growth and poverty.

***SPOTLIGHTING IMPLEMENTATION***

*Accountable Entities*

**MCC and partner countries share a unique relationship in the fight
against poverty.** While MCC provides technical support and oversight,
partner countries principally drive compact implementation, setting up
accountable entities, which are responsible for the daily management,
operation, coordination, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation
of the compact. The accountable entity becomes the central point of
contact for MCC, other donors, contractors, consultants, and the
country's citizens. The accountable entity develops and is responsible
for the implementation of compact activities, including financial plans,
procurement plans, the monitoring and evaluation plan, the fiscal
accountability plan, work plans, and any audit plan. The accountable
entities can be located within a government ministry or operate
separately. What is key is that they are led by a board of
directors---or similar leadership board---that includes public and
private members who provide oversight and ensure public consultation
throughout compact implementation.

***MCA Accountable Entities***

Each partner country designates its own entity to be responsible for
compact implementation and to oversee its Millennium Challenge Account.
Existing accountable entities (often referred to as *MCAs*) in partner
countries include:

Armenia

**MCA-Armenia**

<http://www.mca.am/new/enversion/index.php>

Benin

**MCA-Benin**

<http://www.mcabenin.bj/>

Burkina Faso

**MCA-Burkina Faso**

Cape Verde

**MCA-Cape Verde**

<http://www.mca.cv/>

El Salvador

**FOMILENIO**

<http://www.mca.gob.sv/fomilenio/index.php>

Georgia

**Millennium Georgia Fund**

<http://www.mcg.ge/>

Ghana

**MiDA**

<http://www.mida.gov.gh/>

Honduras

**MCA-Honduras**

<http://www.mcahonduras.hn/>

Lesotho

**MCA-Lesotho**

Madagascar

**MCA-Madagascar**

<http://www.mcamadagascar.org/>

Mali

**MCA-Mali**

<http://www.mcamali.org/>

Mongolia

**MCA-Mongolia**

Morocco

**Agence du Partenariat pour le Progrès**

Mozambique

**MCA-Mozambique**

Namibia

**MCA-Namibia**

Nicaragua

**MCA-Nicaragua**

<http://www.cuentadelmilenio.org.ni/>

Tanzania

**MCA-Tanzania**

<http://www.mca-t.go.tz/>

Vanuatu

**MCA-Vanuatu**

<http://www.governmentofvanuatu.gov.vu/mca-vanuatu/Home/tabid/54/Default.aspx>

**[Graphic design note: Add logos to accompany this accountable entity
discussion.]{.mark} [Also, Brett to add missing websites of entities if
they are functioning.]{.mark}**

*MCC University*

***MCC University* is a different way to help countries share best
practices and build and strengthen their capacity to implement their
compacts. "***MCC U"* is an annual gathering of representatives from MCC
partner countries, where they exchange lessons learned and on-the-ground
experiences on the most effective ways to implement MCC-funded programs.

The 2008 *MCC U* took place from June 2 to 6 and welcomed over 50
development leaders from countries worldwide with MCC compact programs
in various stages of compact development and implementation to
Washington. The agenda included presentations on topics of interest to
MCAs, such as best practices in management and ways to increase
effectiveness in infrastructure project management, procurement, and
monitoring and evaluation of results. Breakout sessions and open
discussions allowed participants to share their experiences and exchange
ideas with their peers. Country representatives went home better
equipped to successfully develop and implement their MCC compacts and
continue fighting poverty and promoting growth in their countries.

**\[Quote box\]**

*"There is so much information available among member countries that,
when tapped early, it can help countries improve planning and
implementation."*

**MCC U Participant in a final participant survey**

**June 2008**

*Coordinating with other donors, U.S. agencies, and development
partners*

**An aspect of MCC's** **different approach is** **building on the
important lessons learned in coordinating** **with other donors and
development** **actors in** **partner** **countries.**  This is critical
for successful compact development and implementation.  Such
coordination avoids costly duplications, saves time and money, and
better leverages MCC investments to maximize impact.  MCC works to
identify mutually beneficial partnerships with other donors and
development actors; MCC compact activities build upon, complement, and
benefit from their expertise and work: Here's how:

-   As part of MCC's compact development process in **Malawi**, the
    government conducted a joint economic growth diagnostic with the
    **United Kingdom\'s Department for International Development**, the
    **World Bank**, and the **African Development Bank**. These same
    partners have been participating in the consultative process to
    develop a compact and have helped improve the economic constraints
    analysis the government has prepared to inform its compact's design.

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-   In **Burkina Faso**, MCC consulted with major road sector
    donors---the **World Bank**, the **European Union**, the **African
    Development Bank**, the **Arab Bank for Economic Development in
    Africa**, the **Saudi Fund for Development**, the **Kuwait Fund for
    Arab Economic Development**, and the **Islamic Development
    Bank**---on the evolution of road sector projects proposed for MCC
    funding. The road segments included in the Burkina Faso compact will
    connect with road construction activities now being financed by
    these donors.

-   In **Ghana**, the **U.S. Agency for International Development**
    amended its ongoing education program to provide community teachers
    in schools that MCC funding renovated or built.

-   Also, in **Ghana**, the **U.S. Trade and Development Agency**
    (USTDA) awarded a \$360,000 grant to Ghanaian leasing companies to
    help establish a leasing market for heavy agricultural equipment and
    provide technical assistance on viable business models. One of the
    gaps in MCC's agricultural program is access to such equipment for
    small growers to help increase agricultural productivity. Leasing
    businesses would enable farmer organizations to access the machinery
    needed to increase yields. MCC/USTDA assistance is also being
    coordinated in transportation infrastructure, where USTDA is funding
    a master plan to modernize the port of Tema, where MCC's upgrade of
    the National Highway ends. To stimulate economic activity around the
    National Highway, USTDA has identified aviation sector modernization
    projects that will facilitate the export of Ghanaian goods through
    Accra's main airport.

-   In **Morocco**, **USTDA** awarded a \$531,810 grant to the Ministry
    of Agriculture and Maritime Fishing to support MCC's *Fruit Tree
    Productivity Project*, which seeks to stimulate growth and reduce
    volatility of agriculture. The grant will fund technical assistance
    to create cold storage infrastructure and facilities to reduce
    losses in palm date production. The project will include a training
    component targeting producers and producer associations on the
    importance of cold storage.

-   In **Benin**, MCC is coordinating with a study sponsored by the
    **Embassy of the Netherlands** on performance indicators at the Port
    of Cotonou. Benin's compact includes substantial renovations and
    upgrades to this port, so MCC has agreed to harmonize the
    performance indicators we track with the Dutch to avoid duplicating
    data needs.

-   In **Tanzania**, MCC's *Mainland Trunk Roads Activity* is
    contributing to the government's five-year *Transport Sector
    Investment Program*, alongside the **World Bank**, the **African
    Development Bank**, the **European Union**, **Norway**, **Denmark**,
    and the **Netherlands**. MCC and these development partners
    successfully helped Tanzania develop a newly enacted *Roads Act*
    that nearly doubles funding for road maintenance on the mainland
    through an increased fuel levy.

**\[Text Box\]**

***MCC and Aid Effectiveness***

For the development community, 2008 marked an important year for aid
effectiveness.  Major events like the United Nations Economic and Social
Council's Development Cooperation Forum and the Third High-Level Forum
on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana provided opportunities to assess
progress made toward greater aid effectiveness.  MCC participated
actively in these events, together with other donors and partner
countries from around the world.  In line with the *Paris Declaration on
Aid Effectiveness* and aid effectiveness more broadly, MCC's model
actually builds upon a number of key aid effectiveness principles. 
First, **country ownership** is at the heart of aid effectiveness and
MCC's approach:  we ask partner countries to identify their own
constraints to poverty reduction, design their own programs, and
implement their own compacts. Second, in line with **aid
predictability**, MCC commits all funding up-front at the time of
compact signing, so partner countries know exactly how much they can
expect to receive over the life of an MCC grant.  Third, MCC compact
assistance is **untied**, which means procurements are open to
international competitive bidding. Finally, through the use of rigorous
tools, including economic rate of return analysis and impact evaluation,
MCC ensures that both we and our partner countries are focused on
delivering **results**.

**\[Text Box\]**

***MCC forges alliances to maximize results***

MCC has signed various memoranda of understanding (MOUs) during fiscal
year 2008 to leverage the resources of those in the private sector, of
those with on-the-ground knowledge in places like Africa, and of those
who can help us find a diverse, talented workforce in order to achieve
our goals. These MOUs demonstrate MCC's work to augment U.S. taxpayer
money with additional initiatives. This prevents duplication of effort,
improves the impact of each project activity, and helps our partners
attract long-term growth opportunities.

October 22, 2007 MCC signs a memorandum of understanding with
**Microsoft Corporation**, the **U.S. Agency for International
Development**, and the **President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief** to
pursue common development goals.

February 19, 2008 MCC and the **United Kingdom's Department for
International Development** sign a memorandum of understanding to
increase on-the-ground cooperation in partner countries---including
Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia---in the priority
sectors of education, water and sanitation, transportation, and
governance.

April 2, 2008 MCC and **General Electric Company** sign a memorandum of
understanding to pursue development goals in partner countries.

May 15, 2008 MCC and the **Phelps Stokes Fund** sign a memorandum of
understanding to promote diversity by expanding and deepening minority
involvement in the international arena.

June 11, 2008 MCC and the **Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
(AGRA)**, under the leadership of former UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan, sign a memorandum of understanding to help African countries
tackle poverty and hunger through smart, sustainable solutions to
improve the productivity and incomes of small-scale farmers and poor
rural households. In Madagascar, for example, AGRA is expected to invest
nearly \$500,000 to work with MCC-funded agricultural business centers
to set up farmer-based seed multiplication sites for improved varieties
of rice, corn, and beans.

**\[Text box\]**

> ***What others are saying about MCC's different model for
> development***

-   **The Los Angeles Times:** *"Millennium Challenge is a bold approach
    to foreign aid, targeted at creating important economy-building
    infrastructure in poor countries."*

-   **Indianapolis Star*: ****"The Millennium Challenge Account...is the
    kind of smart and strategic foreign aid that can earn back the U.S.
    public\'s confidence in our ability to make a meaningful and
    compassionate response to the world poverty crisis."*

-   **Oxfam America:** *"If the US wants to become a smart development
    leader, US policy makers should... \[r\]ecommit to supporting the
    MCC.\"*

-   **Congressman Joe Knollenberg:** *"I believe the MCC is the future
    of U.S. foreign assistance and I call on Congress to fully fund the
    MCC."*

-   **Steve Radelet from the Center for Global Development:** *"The
    Millennium Challenge Corporation has evolved into what I think is an
    imaginative and creative new way to think about foreign
    assistance."*

-   **Sheila Herrling, from the Center for Global Development:** *"...We
    are a big supporter...always in support of the success of the MCA.
    It continues to be...the greatest experiment we've had in U.S.
    foreign assistance since the Marshall Plan. It brings together a lot
    of the lessons that we've learned over the past 50 years in
    development effectiveness that countries should be owning and
    driving and designing and implementing their programs\..."*

-   **Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of Mongolia:** *"If I
    could give a piece of advice to the next U.S. president, it would be
    to continue with the Millennium Challenge Account...The novelty of
    the mechanism of assistance is that it is supposed to be based on
    recipient country owner­ship so it is the recipient countries who are
    identifying their primary problems..."*

**\[Text box\]**

***MCC as Part of the Debate on the Future of Foreign Assistance***

Given our performance-based selection process, country-driven program
development and implementation, transparent and publicly-available
economic analysis to justify funding decisions, focus on accountability
and results, and alliances with private sector entities to expand our
impact in fighting poverty, MCC is a working template for modernizing
U.S. foreign assistance. MCC now incorporates fresh on-the-ground best
practices and strategies that can inform the ongoing conversation about
the future of American aid. The American public is in favor of foreign
assistance that is well-managed, targeted, and successful at increasing
country capacity. As development groups and experts grapple with how
best to overhaul foreign assistance to meet this objective, MCC offers a
model for the way forward.

**RESULTS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE**

International development must measure results in many ways. MCC's
success is a function of specific compacts and threshold programs being
implemented in partner countries. It is also a function of changes in
policies and procedures that countries are institutionalizing to ensure
the sustainability of this programmatic progress. The marriage of
policies and programs creates a strong foundation for poverty reduction
and economic growth that can make a difference in the lives of the poor
in meaningful ways.

**\[Quote Box\]**

*...it\'s simply too early to measure the end-of-compact results of
income growth and beneficiary impact. But there are certainly*
[*sufficient outcome
results*](http://www.mcc.gov/press/successstories/index.php) *to
demonstrate the effect that the MCC model is having on changing the way
U.S. development assistance is viewed by partner countries and on
reforming local policies that pave the way for sustained development.
Repairing a gas pipeline in Georgia to prevent environmental and safety
hazards and prevent the disruption of gas delivery, enhancing
transparency of government operations and budgeting in Cape Verde,
increasing access to credit by women in Madagascar, raising crop
productivity and farmer incomes in Honduras are but a few of the very
real results from MCC investments. These kinds of outcomes are the
building blocks of long-term, country-owned development that can build a
better safer world and ultimately transition countries away from foreign
assistance."*

***MCA Monitor Blog* entry by Sheila Herrling**

**Center for Global Development**

**July 28, 2008**

**\[Text Box\]**

**The power of the *MCC Effect***

The *MCC Effect* captures the powerful incentive MCC provides for poor
countries to make reforms *on their own* to qualify for MCC assistance.
To date, the most significant impact has been the incentive created for
countries to adopt legal, policy, regulatory, and institutional reforms
related to the MCC eligibility criteria. In addition to a significant
amount of grant funding, MCC eligibility can lead to international
recognition and increased private sector investment, which also has
encouraged many countries to implement economic, social, and political
reforms. MCC's dramatic effect on data quality is another important
manifestation of the *MCC Effect* that has strengthened the development
community's ability to measure for results. Additionally, the *MCC
Effect* can be seen in the development and implementation of threshold
programs and compacts. In many cases, participation in these programs
has strengthened country ownership, donor coordination, and monitoring
and evaluation systems.

**The *MCC Effect* in action**

\* A December 2007 *New York Times* front-page article reported that
"**Burkina Faso** has gone to great lengths to meet the agency's good
governance standards. ... \[The government\] has also halved the number
of days it takes to start a business, and reduced by a third the cost of
registering property." The World Bank similarly notes in its *Doing
Business 2008* report that it has observed a significant "MCC Effect" in
Burkina Faso.

\* The World Bank's 2007 *Celebrating Reform* report hails MCC as a
catalyst for reform in **Georgia**. In the last three years, Georgia has
catapulted from 112^th^ place to 18^th^ place on the International
Finance Corporation's *Ease of Doing Business Index*. They have
overhauled tax and customs administration, business and property
registration, the courts, and the civil service.

\* In late 2006, MCC and **Niger** discussed the indicators that have
prevented Niger from becoming eligible for MCC compact funding. These
included the cost of starting a business and the time and cost of
property registration. Niger's government took swift action in 2007,
reducing the cost of starting a business by almost 60 percent and the
time and cost of property registration by a third.

\* While visiting **Mozambique** in July 2008, MCC Board Member Senator
Bill Frist noted in his ONE blog that Aiuba Cuereneia, Mozambique's
Minister for Planning and Economic Development, "already has his eye on
the next five-year \[MCC\] compact. And he knows that Mozambique's
eligibility depends on maintaining the country's positive policy
performance in governance, social investment, and economic freedom."
Minister Cuereneia's ministry, along with several other government
ministries, has developed an action plan to improve Mozambique's
performance on the MCC eligibility indicators. This plan focuses on
expanding access to childhood vaccinations, increasing the number of
girls that graduate from primary school, strengthening natural resource
management practices, and improving the investment climate.

*For more information on the MCC Effect, visit
[www.mcc.gov](http://www.mcc.gov/) to download a complete report.*

**RESULTS: POLICY REFORMS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE**

MCC partner countries worldwide share a commitment to reform. They have
been re-evaluating their policies, regulations, and legislation related
to good governance, health and education, and their business climate. By
awarding development assistance in a different and demanding way, MCC is
a strong catalyst for reform. During fiscal year 2008, partner countries
made progress in their policy reforms to fight corruption, deepen
democracy, empower women, engage the private sector, and build trade
capacity.

*Fighting corruption*

Because transparency and good governance are essential ingredients for
sustainable economic growth, MCC only selects those countries for
compact eligibility that pass our *control of corruption* indicator. As
a result, countries seeking MCC eligibility---and even those that have
already been selected as eligible---are adopting tough anticorruption
laws, opening up the public policymaking process to greater scrutiny,
and stepping up corruption-related investigations and prosecutions.
Specifically, MCC threshold programs are helping reform-minded
governments implement aggressive anticorruption programs by cleaning up
tax administration, customs administration, public financial management,
and business licensing; training investigative journalists,
investigators, public prosecutors, and magistrates; providing assistance
in the drafting and implementation of anticorruption legislation;
strengthening civil society watchdog units and government auditing
agencies; and establishing mechanisms for income and asset disclosure.

-   Nathaniel Heller, the Managing Director of Global Integrity, an
    independent, nonprofit organization that tracks governance and
    corruption trends around the world, stated in February 2008 that
    *"\[w\]hether people like it or not, countries are, in practice,
    responding to what has been coined the MCC Effect...and they are
    undertaking reforms, sometimes some of the tough ones*."

-   Albania is implementing electronic filing to reduce face-to-face
    interactions between taxpayers and tax administration officers and
    thereby reduce opportunities for corruption. Toward this, the
    government removed an archaic "verification" requirement for all
    taxpayers to bring in their records to the tax authority on a
    monthly basis, a procedure susceptible to abuse and corruption. The
    government's reform efforts are having an impact: the percentage of
    Albanians who paid a bribe to the tax authorities declined from 46
    to 27 percent between 2006 and 2007.

-   For greater accountability, Malawi put into operation an *Integrated
    Financial Management System.* With threshold program support,
    Malawi's sovereign credit rating was upgraded from CCC+ to B-. A
    higher rating indicates improved financial transparency and
    practices, increasing the country's prospects for foreign direct
    investment

-   Tanzania's MCC threshold program helped fight corruption. In 2005
    and 2006, Tanzania worked with MCC and the U.S. Agency for
    International Development to train journalists in investigative
    reporting. Initially, the Tanzanian press published an average of 20
    corruption-related stories per month.  By the second quarter of
    2008, this figure increased to 439 per month.  These stories,
    together with procurement audits funded by the program and the hard
    work of public expenditure tracking committees, have led to formal
    investigations, administrative sanctions, and prosecutions.

-   Indonesia is using its MCC threshold program to reduce corruption in
    the judiciary. The number of Indonesians reporting that they had to
    pay a bribe to receive legal or judicial services declined from 36
    percent in 2006 to 16 percent in 2007.

-   Mongolia established its first independent *Anti-Corruption Agency*
    in 2007 to identify corruption in government. It designed financial
    disclosure forms required of political candidates and senior
    government officials.

-   Lesotho's Parliament passed the *Money Laundering and Proceeds of
    Crime Act 2008* in April 2008 that will establish an *Anti-Money
    Laundering Authority* and a *Financial Intelligence Unit,* enabling
    the confiscation of unlawful proceeds from all serious crimes and
    requiring accountable institutions to take prudent measures to help
    combat money laundering.

-   Madagascar is producing anticorruption communication tools specific
    to land tenure reform, a key component of its MCC compact. In
    partnership with the *Independent Anticorruption Office,*
    MCA-Madagascar is training personnel in the program's land
    management offices and conducting anticorruption outreach activities
    in these communities.

-   Honduras started a national conversation on combating corruption. It
    developed a plan with more than 40 specific actions that the
    government is undertaking to fight corruption, including
    whistleblower protection for public employees who expose corruption
    and implementation of the transparency and disclosure legislation
    enacted in 2007. The plan was unveiled at a public ceremony,
    attended by representatives from Honduran civil society
    organizations, including the *Anti-Corruption Council*, and members
    of the donor community. Quarterly reports are being published to
    track progress on the plan.

*Deepening democracy*

MCC deepens democracy by combining incentives that encourage democratic
policy reforms with implementation procedures that support engagement
with democratic actors and processes already in place in partner
countries. We link aid to policy performance on such indicators of
democratic standing as *political rights*, *civil liberties*, and *voice
and accountability*. We encourage a consultative process that works
through domestic institutions. Further, we ensure that partner countries
continue working with and through democratic institutions during the
implementation of their compacts. MCC programs and democracy intersect
in a number of ways:

-   Since MCC's inception, El Salvador, Jordan, Indonesia, Guatemala,
    Dominican Republic, Philippines, Moldova, and Ukraine have
    established ministerial commissions or committees to coordinate
    democratic reforms that are related to MCC eligibility.

-   To ensure transparency and accountability, MCC grant resources
    appear as a line item in the budgets of our partner countries. In
    Vanuatu, this triggered new debates about funds for road maintenance
    and tax procedures. In Georgia, the inclusion of MCA budget data
    prompted civic actors to examine the MCA budget more closely.

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-   Jordan is using its MCC threshold program to strengthen democratic
    institutions, to broaden public participation in the political and
    electoral process, and to increase government transparency and
    accountability.

-   Malawi was able to strengthen the legislative and judicial branches
    of its govern­ment, provide support for anticorruption agencies,
    reinforce independent media coverage, and expand and intensify the
    work of civil society organizations through its threshold program.

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-   Cape Verde was ranked third among the best-governed countries in
    sub-Saharan Africa by the *Mo Ibrahim Foundation* and placed first
    among 48 countries in security and stability. The ongoing commitment
    to meet MCC's eligibility indicators contributes to the impressive
    results Cape Verde has achieved in its policy performance. 

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-   In Mali, advisory councils representing direct beneficiaries and
    comprised of members of the private sector, civil society, and local
    government met in August 2008 to discuss airport improvements and
    Alatona irrigation projects.   Councils meet periodically to provide
    their feedback and recommendations to MCA-Mali as part of a
    collaborative decision-making process and to promote transparency
    and accountability. 

*Empowering women*

As captured in MCC's groundbreaking *Gender Policy*, we are committed to
ensuring that gender is considered in all stages of our work with
partner countries---from the selection of eligible countries, the
development and design of compacts, the assess­ment and implementation of
projects, the monitoring of program results, and the evaluation of
program impacts.

-   During the consultative process and throughout implementation, the
    *Northwest Women's Council* has helped shape the rural business
    development and land titling components of Nicaragua's MCC compact.
     At the same time, MCA-Nicaragua's gender specialist has played an
    integral role in developing and implementing a gender policy for
    program implementation.  Recognizing Nicaragua's pioneering role in
    helping women participate in economic growth activities to reduce
    poverty, *Women Thrive Worldwide*, a U.S. non-governmental
    organization, presented MCA-Nicaragua with an award for ongoing
    efforts.

-   Benin's compact requires that women are provided with training to
    encourage and facilitate their participation in programs to obtain
    land titles and microloans.

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-   Lesotho ensured that gender equality in economic rights was legally
    guaranteed before sign­ing its MCC compact.

-   Madagascar's compact, which has a land and property rights
    component, includes joint titling provisions for both husband and
    wife.

-   Mali is using its MCC compact to ensure that women will have access
    to irrigated agricultural land through the land allocation process.

-   Through Mongolia's compact projects, land titles will be issued in
    the name of all family members, including wives, and
    non-communicable disease prevention and treatment will target such
    leading killers of Mongolian women as cervical and breast cancers.

-   In Vanuatu, women's and youth groups are participating in community
    health and safety programs, including STD/HIV/AIDS awareness
    training.

-   In Ghana, agricultural training for women participants from 600
    farmer-based organizations has been tailored to increase the
    likelihood that they will feel comfortable with adopting new
    technology.

**\[Text Box\]**

**Women in Honduras benefit from the**

**MCC-funded *Farmer Training and Development (EDA) Program***

Since the MCC-funded EDA program started in Honduras in October 2006, it
has encouraged women's participation in agricultural activities with
customized technical assistance and training for improving yields,
incomes, and market access. Assistance is targeted to women in the
agriculture sector because they are traditionally underrepresented and
undertrained. As of the end of fiscal year 2008, this MCC-funded program
has made a difference in the lives of women farmers.

***The Progress***

\* Taking advantage of program assistance, women farmers are
diversifying their crops to include tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic,
oriental vegetables, sweet potatoes, passion fruit, watermelons, yuca,
plantains, corn, and plantlets.

\* Women farmers of the program have planted 152 hectares and have
generated local and export sales of more than \$206,700 as of June 2008.

\*Since the program's beginning, 3,580 women have participated in
training events, covering subjects from horticulture production,
business skills, postharvest handling, and market information.

\* As of June 2008, MCA-Honduras installed drip irrigation systems and
other farm accessories for women clients worth nearly \$45,000.

\* Negotiations with banks, private financial development organizations,
cooperatives, and agricultural input suppliers have made financing more
accessible. Women farmers have obtained loans totaling \$29,700 from
formal institutions.

\*The program's women clients are playing an important role in rural
economic development by creating their own agribusinesses. They have
generated 132 full-time equivalent positions for women jobs in their
communities, generating an estimated income of \$100,000.

***The Women Farmers***

**Iris Sagrario Acosta**

***Plantain grower, Colón***

Iris Sagrario Acosta's husband went to the U.S. and left her in charge
of their farm. Despite having no experience in agriculture, she used the
technical assistance she received in basic production practices to turn
her farm into a profitable business. She increased her planting area
from 3.5 hectares of plantains in 2006 to 8.9 hectares in 2007. Iris's
net sales increased in that period from \$7,300 to \$12,100.

*"This has been a great experience, and I enjoy farm activities. I have
learned how to select plants, clean filters, and manage a drip
irrigation system. I envision a good future, when \[EDA\] is no longer
here. I know that it will go well now that I have the skills to carry
on."*

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="1.875in" height="1.40625in"}**Norma Dalila
Castillo**

***Flower grower, Santa Cruz de Yojoa, Cortes***

Norma Dalila Castillo started with the program in September 2007. She
has one hectare of tropical flowers where she implemented the program's
recommended production practices. Her net income earned as of March 2008
amounted to \$2,760.

*"...We have implemented new production practices and the results are
great. We have improved yields, quality, and shelf-life of our flowers,
which we are currently selling in Tegucigalpa, and \[are\] looking into
export markets."*

*Engaging the private sector*

MCC knows that the true engine of sustainable growth is private sector
investment. Our partner countries are reforming in ways that attract not
only MCC's attention but also that of the private sector.  Between 2000
and 2006, compact countries experienced significantly higher levels of
foreign direct investment growth across diverse sectors than the average
developing country.  The private sector invests where MCC is also
investing, selecting the same high performing countries where our
investments can deliver the greatest impact. Private enterprise
strengthens supply chain linkages, encourages local entrepreneurs to
meet global standards, generates incentives to open markets, and
ultimately creates higher-paying jobs. Private sector engagement---from
development through implementation---contributes to successful compacts
by ensuring that private sector trade and investment follow MCC
investments.

It is not enough that a partner country builds a road today with MCC
funds; far more critical is the follow-on, private sector investments
stimulated by the road that will sustain future economic development. We
are scaling up efforts to analyze, categorize, and communicate trade and
investment opportunities that provide the private sector with the chance
to undertake investments that are commercially viable as well as vital
for sustainable economic growth in our partner countries.

Within the context of wide civil society participation, the private
sector's feedback and strategies are integral for developing and
implementing successful compacts. MCC is harnessing private enterprise
in the following ways:

-   Moldova, Senegal, Malawi, and Jordan participated in private sector
    dialogue sessions with over 150 international investors to highlight
    opportunities for economic growth, identify trade and investment
    leads, spur creative compact structures, and generate corporate
    social responsibility collaboration.  To deepen this private sector
    dialogue, MCC is already piloting an innovative *Request for Ideas*
    process through written feedback on proposed compact concepts.

-   All compact countries are learning about new models of
    public-private partnership through MCC's private sector toolkit.
    This toolkit illustrates four global best practices to leverage and
    sustain compacts: private financing of infrastructure, outsourced
    management, output-based aid, and social franchise. Several MCC
    partner countries are incorporating elements of these models into
    compacts in development and in implementation.

-   MCC's compact programs in Benin, Cape Verde, El Salvador, Georgia,
    Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, and Namibia contain finance and
    enterprise development components. Other compact programs focus on
    farmer training and technical assistance that enhance agriculture's
    role in increasing incomes and economic growth.

-   MCC's compact in El Salvador, for example, combines MCC efforts with
    those of other U.S. Government agencies, like the Overseas Private
    Investment Corporation, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, the
    U.S. Trade Representative, and the U.S. Agency for International
    Development, to create even stronger incentives for investment and
    trade in the Northern Zone.  This creates an "opportunity corridor"
    around MCC's investment, creating jobs, facilitating further
    investment opportunities for entrepreneurs, and ensuring that MCC
    investments succeed and are sustained long after MCC's programs have
    concluded. 

-   In September, Chiquita Brands began discussions with major pineapple
    producers in Ghana who are benefitting from MCC's investment in
    agriculture productivity regarding potential long-term (12--15 year)
    fixed price contracts to source pineapple for the European market.
    MCC growers would benefit from Chiquita's technical assistance to
    improve productivity and quality, as well as logistical support.
    Chiquita will build upon MCC's investment in post-harvest
    infrastructure and cold storage, collaborate on training
    initiatives, strengthen the existing supply chain, and lower input
    costs for growers. In addition, MCC sponsored interagency
    discussions between Chiquita and the President's Emergency Plan for
    AIDS Relief, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the
    Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and
    Development Agency to explore how other U.S. Government programs
    could support future Chiquita activity in MCC countries.

-   The Citizen's House, supported by MCC through Cape Verde's NOSi
    (Operational Nucleus for the Information Society), was established
    in 2008 to offer citizens and businesses electronic access to
    various government services, including registering a business. This
    has reduced the time and cost of business registrations, from an
    average of 50 days or more at a cost of \$750 to 50 minutes and
    \$140.

-   The irrigation project in Mali has integrated the need to attract
    investors and modernize agriculture by providing opportunities for
    private sector participation and larger mechanized farms partly
    through the development of a significant number of larger plots of
    30 hectares or more.

-   Lesotho's compact furthers overall policy reforms designed to
    attract foreign investment in Basotho-owned companies. To promote
    commercial codes and investment protection for trade, the compact's
    *Civil Legal Reform* project includes developing a commercial court,
    creating case management systems, and promoting alternative dispute
    resolution.

-   The *Georgia Regional Development Fund*, created through Georgia's
    MCC compact to support small businesses outside of Tbilisi, invested
    \$2 million in Bazi, a food cannery, to expand its tomato and apple
    juice concentrate production. By sourcing the raw materials from
    farmers in the Gori region, Bazi will drive private sector-led
    economic activity among enterprising local producers of tomatoes and
    apples.

*Building trade capacity*

MCC's focus on stimulating investment in and around MCC projects is also
stimulating more trade.  MCC\'s partner countries continue to value
investments that can help their people participate in regional and
international markets. For the five MCC compacts that entered into force
in fiscal year 2008, over half of their grant funding supports
aid-for-trade activities. This builds on efforts in fiscal year 2007,
when MCC obligated more aid-for-trade than any other U.S. Government
agency. MCC's commitment to trade continues to deliver tangible impact:

-   Because of compact funding, water will feed into Lesotho's major
    urban centers where textile factories are located, enabling the
    country to take advantage of the *African Growth and Opportunity
    Act* and compete with manufacturers in other countries. The
    construction of a bulk water conveyance system has the potential of
    helping to expand private sector garment export production between
    50 and 80 percent in five years after the project's completion.

-   In September 2008, for instance, MiDA, responsible for
    implementing Ghana\'s compact, provided a grant to the *Sea-Freight
    Pineapple Exporters of Ghana* for their member farmers to purchase
    pre-fabricated walk-in coolers. This increases the competiveness of
    Ghana\'s horticulture by keeping produce fresh longer and allows
    exporters to attract a better price from European buyers.

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-   Mongolia's compact will modernize and increase the capacity of the
    rail sector, which plays a critical role for trade in this
    landlocked country. Increasing transport efficiencies is vital for
    moving domestic shipments as well as imports and exports.

-   Small agricultural producers in Nicaragua are tapping into MCC
    assistance to take advantage of export opportunities facilitated
    through other Central American compacts and CAFTA-DR.  More than
    2,300 producers and entrepreneurs are implementing business plans
    that involve exporting products such as sesame seeds, cashews,
    honey, beans, cheese, cassava, and plantains to the United States,
    Japan, Germany, Honduras, and El Salvador.

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-   Compact investments to expand the Port of Cotonou and streamline
    customs procedures will allow Benin to attract importers and
    facilitate exporters in the highly competitive West African shipping
    trade.  This will translate into lower priced goods in the Beninese
    marketplace, helping Benin take advantage of preferential trade
    agreements like the *African Growth and Opportunity Act*, and will
    position the country as a service provider of choice for inland
    African countries like Burkina Faso and Niger.

**RESULTS: COMPACT AND THRESHOLD PROGRAM PROGRESS THAT MAKES A
DIFFERENCE**

**[Insert Barrios/Lucas Results Team---Results Scorecard in
aggregate]{.mark}**

**[Insert "Chevrons"]{.mark}**

**[October 29, 2008]{.underline}**

*As of September 2008:*

-   More than **48,000 farmers** have been trained and more than **3,000
    hectares of land** are under production.

-   More than **3,000 kilometers** of **roads** are under design, and
    road construction is underway in places like Nicaragua and Cape
    Verde.

-   More than **600 kilometers** of **irrigation canals** are being
    built, with the first phase of canal repairs already completed in
    Armenia.

**[WAITING ON NEW RESULTS SCORECARD DATA TO UPDATE THIS
SECTION]{.mark}**

***[Compact Progress as of the end of quarter 3 of fiscal year 2008
{must be updated}:]{.mark}***

[]{.mark}

[**Agriculture and Rural Development** ]{.mark}

[MCC farmer training and assistance programs around the world continue
to make strong progress.  To date, a total of 34,600 farmers have been
trained in agricultural best practices in **Madagascar**, **Armenia**
and **Honduras**.  Approximately 1,600 farmers will receive technical
and business development assistance in **El Salvador** through the
Productive Development Project pilot.  Farmers are also benefiting from
loans and grants funded by MCC.  **MCA-Nicaragua's** Rural Development
Project is currently selecting the best business plans among 1,772
prepared by farmers to obtain funding aimed at increasing their
productivity and improving links to markets. **MCA-Madagascar** has also
assisted farmer groups in mobilizing microfinance loans worth \$625,000.
**Georgia's** Agribusiness Development Activity has awarded grants
totaling \$3,182,302 to 78 agribusiness development projects, which have
created 1,116 new jobs, improved technologies, facilitated market
access, and benefited some 55,000 rural Georgians.  Applications for
grants continue to be submitted with 1,000 applications currently under
review.]{.mark}

[]{.mark}

[**Increased Farmer Incomes** ]{.mark}

[Farmers are already reaping the benefits of MCC-funded training and
business development efforts. For example, in **Nicaragua**, sesame seed
producers saw a 130 percent increase in income during the last harvest
cycle thanks to technical assistance and access-to-market support, and
dairy producers are receiving 30 percent above traditional dairy prices
by improving the quality and cooling the milk.  In **Madagascar**, the
production, harvesting, processing, packaging and export of 600 tons of
lima beans to Mauritius in 2007 \-- a contract secured by
MCA-Madagascar's Agricultural Business Center \-- brought an overall
\$200,000 increase in net income throughout the value chain, including
the cooperative that provided the seeds, producers, the farmer
cooperative, truckers, bean collectors and sorters, and the maritime
transportation company.  The 78 producers that are members of the lima
bean cooperative earned \$940 each, in a region where average household
income averages \$648 a year.]{.mark}

[]{.mark}

[**Progress in Land Tenure Reform** ]{.mark}

[Land tenure programs in **Benin**, **Nicaragua**, and **Madagascar**
are progressing.  **MCA-Benin** began installing seven land survey (GPS)
stations to formalize land rights in more than 300 rural villages. 
Surveying and tenure regularization for 800 parcels has begun in
**Nicaragua**.  Land titles issued for the 800 parcels will add to the
1,226 titles already issued.  A Property Conflict Mediation Center
opened in León to resolve disputes through mediated negotiation.
 **MCA-Madagascar** is currently restoring and digitizing 88,000 land
tenure documents, including land titles, cadastre plans and landowner
personal records, in 10 of the country's 29 regional land service
offices.  These documents will be entered into a national land
management database.  A total of 19 land management offices are
operational and have issued 3,300 land certificates, securing land
rights for 2,000 families.]{.mark}

[]{.mark}

**[Road Projects ]{.mark}**

[During the third quarter, MCAs made significant progress on road
construction projects.  **Armenia** and **Cape Verde** are currently
rehabilitating key road segments.  Major road contracts were signed in
**Georgia** for rehabilitation of the road linking a rural region to
markets in Tbilisi, in **Vanuatu** for the design and construction of
the Efate Ring Road and segments of the Santo East Coast Road, and in
**Honduras** for the construction of the North Segment of the CA-5
Highway.  Procurements are currently underway for a variety of goods and
services related to the Northern Transitional Highway project in **El
Salvador** as well as in **Nicaragua** for the Villanueva-Guasaule road
segment of the Pan-American Highway and the secondary roads between
León-Poneloya and Cinco Pinos-Somotillo.  **MCA-Mali** is conducting
surveys and assessments for the Niono-Goma Coura road. Resettlement
activities for CA-5 Highway in **Honduras** have started.]{.mark}

***RESULTS: AFRICA***

+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| **COMPACT with**       | **G  |                                   |   |
|                        | RANT |                                   |   |
|                        | AM   |                                   |   |
|                        | OUNT |                                   |   |
|                        | of** |                                   |   |
|                        |      |                                   |   |
|                        | **   |                                   |   |
|                        | *(in |                                   |   |
|                        | mill |                                   |   |
|                        | ions |                                   |   |
|                        | )*** |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Madagascar             | \$1  |                                   |   |
|                        | 09.8 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Cape Verde             | \$1  |                                   |   |
|                        | 10.0 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Benin                  | \$3  |                                   |   |
|                        | 07.3 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Ghana                  | \$5  |                                   |   |
|                        | 47.0 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Mali                   | \$4  |                                   |   |
|                        | 60.8 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Mozambique             | \$5  |                                   |   |
|                        | 06.9 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Lesotho                | \$3  |                                   |   |
|                        | 62.6 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Morocco                | \$6  |                                   |   |
|                        | 97.5 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Tanzania               | \$6  |                                   |   |
|                        | 98.0 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Burkina Faso           | \$4  |                                   |   |
|                        | 80.9 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Namibia                | \$3  |                                   |   |
|                        | 04.5 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| **TOTAL compacts in    | **\  |                                   |   |
| Africa**               | $4.6 |                                   |   |
|                        | b    |                                   |   |
|                        | illi |                                   |   |
|                        | on** |                                   |   |
|                        |      |                                   |   |
|                        | **11 |                                   |   |
|                        | co   |                                   |   |
|                        | mpac |                                   |   |
|                        | ts** |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| **THRESHOLD PROGRAM    |      | **GRANT AMOUNT of**               |   |
| with**                 |      |                                   |   |
|                        |      | ***(in millions)***               |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Burkina Faso           |      | \$12.9                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Malawi                 |      | \$20.9                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Tanzania               |      | \$11.2                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Zambia                 |      | \$22.7                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Kenya                  |      | \$12.7                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Uganda                 |      | \$10.4                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| São Tomé and Príncipe  |      | \$8.7                             |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Niger                  |      | \$23.0                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Rwanda                 |      | \$24.7                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| **TOTAL threshold      |      | **\$147.2 million**               |   |
| programs in Africa**   |      |                                   |   |
|                        |      | **9 threshold programs**          |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+

Compacts and threshold programs in **Africa** amount to over **70
percent** of MCC's total grants worldwide.

[]{.mark}

![](media/image3.wmf){width="6.252777777777778in"
height="4.2652777777777775in"}

[]{.mark}

**MCC Threshold Programs in Africa**

***(as a percentage of total threshold funding to Africa)***

As of September 30, 2008

![](media/image4.wmf)

**Making a difference in Madagascar:**

**A creative solution helps women gain access to credit**

![](media/image5.wmf){width="1.7125in"
height="2.2715277777777776in"}Sylvie Faramihaja (pictured) moves around
her native town of Toamasina and its surrounding villages in eastern
Madagascar with ease on her moped. Equipped with this vehicle, and with
training on how to help women access microcredit, she is helping to
reduce poverty as part of Madagascar's \$110 million MCC compact. Sylvie
is one of 20 credit counselors who have been trained to help women in
their quest to access credit. She spends her days coaching women in
microcredit support groups that were established in partnership with the
region's largest microfinance institution. Through these groups, women
acquire small loans without collateral and are responsible for repaying
them on a weekly basis. Loans vary from under \$100 to up to \$2,000 and
help women buy supplies and goods for their shops or small cottage
industries that include artisan crafts and food production. Sylvie is
aware of the cultural, economic, and practical issues that are part of
these women's daily lives---and of just how important microcredit can be
to their future. "More and more women are taking advantage of
credit...and they are paying back their loans while improving their
businesses," she proclaims with pride. This group-based credit approach
has proven to be very effective, with almost a 100 percent loan
repayment rate. 

**Making a difference in Ghana:**

**Rural schools help children reach their potential**

![](media/image6.wmf){width="1.875in" height="1.3895833333333334in"}One
of the biggest challenges for the children of Ghana's Awutu-Effutu-Senya
district (pictured with MCC Associate Country Director Troy Wray) in
realizing their basic right to an education is the lack of adequate
school infrastructure. Ghana's MCC compact offers the students of four
schools in this rural district something they have never had:
functioning classrooms. In April 2008, Ghana's accountable entity for
implementing its MCC compact---MiDA---began renovating the first four of
a total of 35 schools in seven different rural districts scheduled for
rehabilitation under the initial phase of the school project. The
project is a joint effort among MiDA, the beneficiary communities
themselves, the district-level government, and the Ministry of
Education. MiDA hired local builders to rehabilitate the schools and
provide furnishings. The project's second phase will focus on the
construc­tion of new schools designed specifically to meet community
needs. This \$2.8 million school rehabilitation project is part of
Ghana's \$547 million MCC compact. Over time, the construction and
rehabilitation of hundreds of schools in the *Agricultural Intervention
Zones* will not only supplement other MCC projects and Ghana's
agricultural development, but also buttress long-term sustainability by
decentralizing and expanding the provision of basic community services
throughout Ghana.

**Making a difference in Cape Verde:**

**E-Procurement system a model of transparency and efficiency**

> ![](media/image7.wmf){width="2.25in" height="1.6875in"}Imagine the
> difficulty of governing a nation of ten islands scattered over 4,033
> square kilometers of the Atlantic Ocean. No wonder the government of
> Cape Verde developed an e-government system to facilitate public
> administration of its territory through a computer network. This
> system includes, among other features, real access to government
> expenditures and a consolidated public registry database. As part of
> its \$110 million MCC compact, Cape Verde will expand upon its
> e-government system to elevate efficiency and transparency of its
> procurement system to world class standards. Roughly \$1 million in
> compact funds will provide equipment, software, and technical
> expertise to strengthen Cape Verde's e-government system, which will
> serve as the backbone of compact procurements in the areas of
> infrastructure, agriculture support, and private sector development.
> For the average citizen, this translates into a more efficient use of
> government resources. Eventually, the system will be applied to
> enhance transparency across all government ministries, and Cape Verde
> will take over its costs and maintenance to ensure sustainability over
> the long run.

[For more information: Appendix B]{.underline}

Visit the Africa section of *Appendix B* for detailed compact country
results for fiscal year 2008.

***RESULTS: EURASIA AND THE PACIFIC***

+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| **COMPACT with**       | **G  |                                   |   |
|                        | RANT |                                   |   |
|                        | AM   |                                   |   |
|                        | OUNT |                                   |   |
|                        | of** |                                   |   |
|                        |      |                                   |   |
|                        | **   |                                   |   |
|                        | *(in |                                   |   |
|                        | mill |                                   |   |
|                        | ions |                                   |   |
|                        | )*** |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Georgia                | \$2  |                                   |   |
|                        | 95.3 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Vanuatu                | \$   |                                   |   |
|                        | 65.7 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Armenia                | \$2  |                                   |   |
|                        | 35.7 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Mongolia               | \$2  |                                   |   |
|                        | 84.9 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| **TOTAL compacts in    | *    |                                   |   |
| Eurasia and the        | *\$8 |                                   |   |
| Pacific**              | 81.6 |                                   |   |
|                        | m    |                                   |   |
|                        | illi |                                   |   |
|                        | on** |                                   |   |
|                        |      |                                   |   |
|                        | **4  |                                   |   |
|                        | co   |                                   |   |
|                        | mpac |                                   |   |
|                        | ts** |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| **THRESHOLD PROGRAM    |      | **GRANT AMOUNT of**               |   |
| with**                 |      |                                   |   |
|                        |      | ***(in millions)***               |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Albania                |      | \$13.9                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Albania: *Stage II*    |      | \$15.7                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Philippines            |      | \$20.7                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Jordan                 |      | \$25.0                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Indonesia              |      | \$55.0                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Ukraine                |      | \$45.0                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Moldova                |      | \$24.7                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Kyrgyz Republic        |      | \$16.0                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| **TOTAL threshold      |      | **\$216.0 million**               |   |
| programs in Eurasia    |      |                                   |   |
| and the Pacific**      |      | **8 threshold programs**          |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+

Compacts and threshold programs in **Eurasia and the Pacific** amount to
over **16 percent** of MCC's total grants worldwide.

![](media/image8.wmf){width="6.252777777777778in"
height="4.2652777777777775in"}

**MCC Threshold Programs in Eurasia and the Pacific**

***(as a percentage of total threshold funding to Eurasia and the
Pacific)***

As of September 30, 2008

![](media/image9.wmf)

**Making a difference in Armenia:**

**Higher incomes for farmers**

![](media/image10.jpeg){width="2.125in"
height="1.617361111111111in"}Armenian farmer Sevan Jamalyan (pictured
with CEO Ambassador Danilovich) has become a celebrity in his village of
Griboyedov. Not only is he among the first farmers in the Armavir region
to complete the water management training offered through MCC's \$235.7
million compact with Armenia, but also his farm has been selected as a
demonstration site for future water-to-market program trainings, an
overall \$33 million initiative that will improve farmers' skills and
capabilities in this critical area. With new technologies, training, and
equipment---ranging from irrigation pipes to sensors and water
meters---farmers like Sevan are improving farm production and
management, increasing their productivity, and transitioning into higher
value agricultural activities. "Many farmers have no idea about such
elementary things like fertilizing or irrigating; they do it intuitively
or just follow what their senior or elder peers do," Sevan explains.
There will be 220 demonstration sites all over the country by the end of
the compact; 120 of them will illustrate water management techniques and
the remaining 100 will be devoted to high value agriculture.

**Making a difference in the Philippines:**

**Mediation program utilizes resources more efficiently**

![](media/image11.wmf){width="2.625in" height="1.96875in"}

In late 2007, a private lending company filed a complaint before the
Office of the Ombudsman of the Philippines against 50 government
employees, including school teachers and police and fire department
personnel, to collect outstanding amounts on their delinquent personal
loans. The Office of the Ombudsman decided to recommend the case for
mediation, a new alterna­tive dispute resolution program made possible
through the Philippines \$20.7 million MCC threshold program. After both
parties presented their points of view during mediation, the lending
company agreed to restructure the employees' payment schedules. This
outcome benefited all parties involved; the employees and the company
were able to reach an agreement, and the Office of the Ombudsman had 50
fewer complaints, reducing the number of pending cases and shifting more
resources from administrative work to the fight against corruption. This
is one example of the threshold program's effectiveness in the
Philippines, and contributed to the March 2008 decision by MCC's board
of directors to select the country as eligible to apply for an MCC
compact.

**Making a difference in Georgia:**

**Equipping Georgian farmers to increase productivity**

![](media/image12.wmf){width="2.75in" height="2.0625in"}Local
entrepreneur Tamaz Niparishvili (pictured) is the director of Kaspi's
Farm Service Center, a one-stop agricultural shop created through a
grant provided through the Millennium Challenge Georgia *Agri­business
Development project,* a key component of Georgia's \$295.3 million MCC
compact. Tamaz used the grant from Millennium Challenge Georgia to buy a
tractor, a delivery van, and an initial inventory of farm supplies to
expand his small shop. He also devoted personal funds to equip it with a
warehouse and training facilities. Farmers in Kaspi now have access to
this state-of-the-art Farm Service Center that sells fertilizers, seeds,
tools, veterinary preparations, disinfectants, and pest management
solutions. Tamaz's shop not only will rent machinery and tractors to
farmers, but also will provide consultants who can offer training on how
to use them. These basic services create previously unavailable
op­portunities for farmers in this promising agricultural region in
central Georgia. Tamaz states, "There is a lot to do. We want to
increase the competitiveness of Georgian agribusiness. The development
of the agricultural sector in the region will bring stable incomes and
improve farmers' standard of living." Kaspi's Farm Service Center is
among the first of a network of 30 planned by Millennium Challenge
Georgia.

[For more information: Appendix B]{.underline}

Visit the Eurasia and the Pacific section of Appendix B for detailed
compact country results for fiscal year 2008.

***RESULTS: LATIN AMERICA***

+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| **COMPACT with**       | **G  |                                   |   |
|                        | RANT |                                   |   |
|                        | AM   |                                   |   |
|                        | OUNT |                                   |   |
|                        | of** |                                   |   |
|                        |      |                                   |   |
|                        | **   |                                   |   |
|                        | *(in |                                   |   |
|                        | mill |                                   |   |
|                        | ions |                                   |   |
|                        | )*** |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Honduras               | \$2  |                                   |   |
|                        | 15.0 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Nicaragua              | \$1  |                                   |   |
|                        | 75.1 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| El Salvador            | \$4  |                                   |   |
|                        | 61.0 |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| **TOTAL compacts in    | *    |                                   |   |
| Latin America**        | *\$8 |                                   |   |
|                        | 51.1 |                                   |   |
|                        | m    |                                   |   |
|                        | illi |                                   |   |
|                        | on** |                                   |   |
|                        |      |                                   |   |
|                        | **3  |                                   |   |
|                        | co   |                                   |   |
|                        | mpac |                                   |   |
|                        | ts** |                                   |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| **THRESHOLD PROGRAM    |      | **GRANT AMOUNT of**               |   |
| with**                 |      |                                   |   |
|                        |      | ***(in millions)***               |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Paraguay               |      | \$34.6                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Guyana                 |      | \$6.7                             |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| Peru                   |      | \$35.6                            |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+
| **TOTAL threshold      |      | **\$76.9 million**                |   |
| programs in Latin      |      |                                   |   |
| America**              |      | **3 threshold programs**          |   |
+------------------------+------+-----------------------------------+---+

Compacts and threshold programs in **Latin America** amount to nearly
**14 percent** of MCC's total grants worldwide.

![](media/image13.wmf){width="6.120138888888889in" height="4.18125in"}

**MCC Threshold Programs in Latin America**

***(as a percentage of total threshold funding to Latin America)***

As of September 30, 2008

![](media/image14.wmf)

**Making a difference in Honduras:**

[**Assistance to onion growers increase production
yields**](http://www.mcc.gov/documents/mcc-successstory-honduras-onions.pdf)

![](media/image15.wmf){width="2.1354166666666665in"
height="2.6041666666666665in"}The *Farmer Training and Development*
program under Honduras's \$215 million MCC compact is providing
technical assistance to help Honduran farmers transition to the
production and marketing of high value horticultural crops. In Guinope,
a municipality in the department of El Paraíso, 300 small farmers have
been using traditional production practices to produce onions on 80-100
hectares of land. Average yield has been only 40,000 pounds per hectare,
and weather, pests, and diseases often result in lower yields or entire
crop failures. Now, direct technical assistance covering the entire
production system is being offered to 29 growers by expert agronomists
who have already facilitated major changes and improvements, including
higher density plantings. These practices have improved all stages of
agricultural production. In the planting process, for instance, this
assistance has provided improved soil management techniques, improved
plantlet production practices, demonstrated higher density planting, and
introduced the use of "starter solution" and biological controls during
transplant. These onion farmers are reaping the benefits of higher
yields, lower unit costs, and increased incomes. Additional farmers have
seen these results and are now being trained by those farmers who have
already successfully diversified their crop base.

**Making a difference in Paraguay:**

**Strengthening institutions by increasing ethical awareness among
public servants**

Public servants in Paraguay's Ministry of Education and Culture have
been energized by a comprehensive ethics campaign resulting in the
creation of a *Code of Ethics and Good Governance.* Five other
government ministries and institutions responsible for administering a
considerable amount of Paraguay's public budget have also benefited from
this program, conducted through MCC's \$34.6 million threshold program
in Paraguay. Wide employee participation and consultation as well as
leadership from the ministries themselves have been at the core of the
ethics program, which was launched with a survey among public employees
about perceptions on ethical and unethical behavior within their
ministries. Designated individuals were then invited to volunteer for an
*Ethics and Good Governance* training, featuring a series of workshops
that guided them in developing the *Code of Ethics* to incorporate
ethics at an institutional level. A total of 131 individuals from
different ministries participated in the training, including 26 from the
Ministry of Education and Culture. The program also included a
train-the-trainer module, which trained 74 government employees to pass
on their knowledge and continue raising awareness about ethics in public
service. Paraguay's new government administration is committed to
sustaining these efforts by assigning a qualified staff and allocating a
budget to the ethics programs established.  

**Making a difference in Nicaragua:**

**Women\'s incomes and trees sprout up**

![](media/image16.wmf){width="1.875in" height="1.40625in"}

Until recently, the ten members of the Cooperativa Forestal de Múltiples
Servicios de Chinandega Norte (CO-FOCHINORTE), a tree nursery
cooperative in Chinandega, were struggling to make ends meet. The women,
mostly single mothers, split their time between the tree nursery and
other jobs. The co-op in which they had set their hopes for a better
future made barely enough money to cover the tree nursery's overhead
expenses but not enough to pay its members' salaries. All that changed
in 2007 when CO-FOCHINORTE, together with five other local
microenterprises, won a public bid to supply trees for an innovative
forestry de­velopment project funded through Nicaragua's \$175.1 million
MCC compact. The project stimulates the rural economy by expanding tree
planta­tions for commercial use and developing all compo­nents of the
value chain---nurseries, timber compa­nies, carpenters, and export
activities. According to Danelia Rivera (pictured), CO-FOCHINORTE's
vice-chairwoman, the contract with MCA-Nicaragua allowed them to produce
trees on a large scale and to pay their members a decent
salary---salaries the members used to buy food and clothing for their
children, among other things. CO-FOCHINORTE produced 100,000 trees in
2007, and the group performed so well that it secured a second, larger
contract in 2008. "We have increased our business' capital with the
support of MCA-Nicaragua. As a result, our tree nursery will yield
increased profits and we will bring home higher salaries," confirms
Danelia.

[For more information: Appendix B]{.underline}

Visit the Latin America section of Appendix B for detailed compact
country results for fiscal year 2008.

**Moving Forward: Making a Difference Beyond 2008**

The Millennium Challenge Corporation is a groundbreaking way of
delivering development assistance that is changing not only the global
conversation about aid effectiveness, but also about its practice. MCC
bundles the best lessons learned in development assistance and relies on
sound policy performance and country ownership to reduce poverty through
sustainable economic growth in meaningful, tangible ways that will
benefit and transform the lives of those living in poverty. MCC already
has incorporated and put into action the most fundamental reforms
discussed in connection with the future direction of foreign assistance.
For example, when the HELP Commission reports that the most effective
development assistance supports democratic principles, good governance,
country-led development, and economic growth, they are referring to the
very way MCC works.

The principles that define MCC will inform the future architecture of a
new and improved foreign aid approach. The development community agrees
that the types of approaches and reforms that MCC has instituted merit
attention and should be adopted as appropriate by donors; many donors
are now looking at ways to emphasize performance-based development
assistance.

MCC will move into the next chapters of its history by continuing to
improve operations and encouraging countries to shoulder deeper
responsibility for their own development. MCC will lead sound compact
development and sup­port aggressive implementation of large-scale poverty
reduction programs with tangible results. Through ongoing support and
resources, MCC will remain a strong and effective model for delivering
results-focused development assistance that makes a positive,
sustainable, and transformative difference in the global fight against
poverty.

**FINANCIAL AUDIT AND MANAGEMENT'S COMMENTS**

**A Message from the Acting Vice President of the Department of
Administration and Finance**

The 2008 Annual Report of the Millennium Challenge Corporation continues
to reflect our commitment to achieve the highest standards of federal
management.

Since inception, MCC has received an unqualified, or "clean," audit
opinion from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) on its financial
statements including the latest unqualified opinion for fiscal year
2008. [(***Note: we will not know the final audit option until
mid-November when we will have final financial statements***)]{.mark}
Full financial statements and the opinion of the Inspector General are
published in our 2008 Performance and Accountability Report, which is
publicly available on our website at [www.mcc.gov](http://www.mcc.gov/).
([Note***: this sentence may not be needed if the decision is made to
include the audit opinion and financials in the Annual
Report)***]{.mark}

MCC has made significant progress this year in resolving outstanding OIG
issues from prior years. MCC closed 29 of the 32 recommendations that
were open at the beginning of the fiscal year, and a total of 40
including those from prior years. Our auditors have identified XXX
findings from our FY 2008 financial audit. We have accepted
responsibility for these findings and plans are underway to address each
finding:

***[RESERVE FOR DISCUSSION of KEY AUDIT FINDINGS]{.mark}***

MCC is streamlining its financial workflow, improving financial
reporting, and further integrating programmatic, performance, and
financial information with a new comprehensive MCC Integrated Data
Analysis System (MIDAS). Once implemented, the system will improve the
timeliness and use of financial data to mange the cost of our programs
and ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and efficiently.

In August 2008, MCC completed its implementation of the Common Payment
System (CPS). CPS centralizes the payment of compact expenses with MCC's
financial services provider and eliminates the need to "advance" large
amounts of funds to partner countries. The use of the CPS will improve
MCC's management reporting capabilities by providing real time data on
compact disbursements and will limit the exposure of cash balances in
foreign banks.

During 2008, we focused on strengthening and improving our technology
infrastructure. ***[(Need input from CIO)]{.mark}***

As MCC continues its focus on the successful implementation of its
compacts, it is our goal to continue to provide the financial,
contracting, personnel, and technology support to ensure our continuing
success. This focus will provide the necessary tools to demonstrate
accountability, results, and effective utilization of resources.

**Michael Casella**

**Acting Vice President, Administration and Finance**

**[Financials]{.mark} *[\[Nolan\]]{.mark}***

***[Simple balance sheet expected November 7, 2008:]{.underline}***

[For more information: Appendix C]{.underline}

Visit Appendix C for MCC's complete audited financial statements for
fiscal year 2008. **[\[Matt to determine what we will
include\]]{.mark}**

**APPENDICES**

***Appendix A:***

*The CEO Report **[Expected mid-November, 2008]{.underline}***

***Appendix B:***

***Africa***

-   ***Individual Compact Country Highlights** **[\[Add QSRs by October
    31, 2008\]]{.mark}***

[]{.mark}

***Eurasia and the Pacific***

-   ***Individual Compact Country Highlights** **[\[Add QSRs by October
    31, 2008\]]{.mark}***

[]{.mark}

***Latin America***

-   ***Individual Compact Country Highlights** **[\[Add QSRs by October
    31, 2008\]]{.mark}***

[]{.mark}

***Appendix C:***

*Audited Financial Report **[\[Nolan\]]{.mark} [Expected to be dropped
in as is November 14-15, 2008]{.underline}***

***[CLEARANCES]{.underline}***

-   Aaron Sherinian (CPA)

-   Matt McLean (CPA)

-   Jenner Edelman's read for Darius Mans (DCI)

    -   Country reps cleared supplemental bullets (Ariane Gauchat, Tom
        Kelly, Courtenay Engelke)

    -   Arian Gauchat's read for GAO-eye

-   Bruce Overton (OGC)

-   Maureen Harrington (PIR)

-   Darius Teter (with comments from Darius Nassiry) (DCD)

-   Gina Porto (OCEO)

-   Matt Bohn

-   OGC: Bruce Overton and Geoff Anderson