Liberia receives $256.7 million Millennium Challenge grant

The Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) approved a $256.7 million U.S. grant to Liberia under the Millennium Challenge Compact program on Sept. 17.

The grant, approved during the MCC Board’s annual meeting, will fund projects in electricity, road maintenance, reforms and capacity building.

The grant approval paves the way for the formal signing of a bilateral agreement between the Liberia and the U.S. that is expected to be signed in October and than submitted to the Liberian National Legislature for ratification.

The Liberian government said the grant will have a significant impact on the lives of ordinary Liberians through poverty reduction, job creation and economic growth.

Liberia’s road to the compact began in 2008 with the Threshold Country Program through which the U.S. provided a $15 million grant to support the Liberian government’s efforts to increase primary education completion for girls, land rights and to improve Liberia’s trade policy

The compact program is competitive and requires countries to meet key indicators relevant to economic and political governance. These indicators include measuring the protection of civil rights including the right to free speech, control of corruption, measuring a government’s transparency and accountability in public financial management.