The U.S Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on November 2, 2017 released its 2018 scorecards in which Malawi continues to pass MCC’s requirement of passing half of the 20 indicators overall, including control of corruption.
According to a press released by the United States Embassy, MCC’s scorecards comprise 20 indicators, which measure policy performance in areas of economic freedom, investing in people, and ruling fairly.
The scorecards are produced for all low and lower-middle income countries.
MCC’s Board of Directors use the scorecard performance as one consideration in its decision-making when selecting country partners at its annual country selection meeting each December.
“MCC and the Government of Malawi signed a $350.7 million [K257.7 billion] compact in 2011, to revitalize the country’s power sector. This compact will end in September 2018,” stated the press release from the Embassy.
The statement further states that the MCC compact, implemented by the Government of Malawi via the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), is designed to increase the capacity and stability of Malawi’s national electricity grid.
It is also aimed at bolstering the efficiency and sustainability of hydropower generation, and prepare for future expansion by strengthening the power sector, institutions, regulation and governance.
MCC collaborates with project partners such as the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM), the Electricity Generation Company (EGENCO), Ministry of Natural Resource, Energy and Mining and the Malawian Regulatory Energy Authority (MERA).
“The main aim is to reduce poverty by modernizing Malawi’s power sector and improve the availability, reliability, and quality of the power supply,” reads the statement.
According to the press release, Malawi’s MCC compact remains largely on track to complete all major works prior to compact completion in September, 2018.
It also states that MCC investments will require continued commitment of the Malawi Government and project partners to achieve power sector reform goals.
These goals include electricity tariff and policy environment that allow the power institutions to cover the cost of producing electricity, expanding and maintaining the electricity grid and encouraging private sector investment in power generation.
The publication of scorecards underscores MCC’s commitment to transparency, which is integral to the institution’s model and a key component of enhancing U.S. foreign assistance effectiveness and ensuring accountability for U.S. taxpayer resources, according to the news release.
The scorecards are available online at
; they use indicators developed by independent third-party sources and provide an objective basis for comparison of the policy performance of all candidate countries.
