The Head of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Alice Patterson Albright, will arrive in the country today on a two-day visit as a mark of confidence and trust in the administration of His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio.
Mrs. Albright’s visit comes in the wake of a series of MCC scorecard passes on key indicators of development, including control of corruption and good governance and an official announcement by the MCC in late 2022 that Sierra Leone has qualified for a compact because of commitment to sustainable national development, demonstrated in no small measure by this government.
It would be recalled that prior to President Bio taking office in 2018, Sierra Leone failed to achieve eligibility for the compact because the previous administration repeatedly failed the key MCC indicators, including the control of corruption, which this Government has now passed three consecutive times with huge scores, the latest being 79%.
Alice Albright’s visit at this crucial time therefore comes as no surprise as she seeks to encourage this government to continue the good work it has been doing since 2018.
Series of activities have been lined up for her during her stay in the country. These include meetings with the Honourable Vice President, Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, to thank him for his high-level support for the compact development and also with His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio, to thank him for his action on the Energy Sector Steering Committee.
Other Meetings will be held with the Minister of Finance, Sheku F. Bangura, to thank him for the support his ministry has provided to the compact development to date, as well as the Minister of Energy, Alhaji Kanja Sesay, to thank him for his support to the compact development and for chairing the recent Energy Sector Steering Committee.
The MCC head will also visit, among others, the EGTC Power assets and view the Karpowership at Kingtom, the Threshold funded Water Kiosk at Kingtom, the Dispatch Center Site/Connection to Southern Corridor at Newton, and the recently electrified Peri-Urban community of Sussex.
Madam Albright would also use the opportunity to meet with the private sector, including leading private sector companies with United States investors in Sierra Leone, to discuss their power related challenges and aspirations, and with officials from EDSA (Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority), EGTC (Electricity Generation and Transmission Company) and EWRC (Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission) to seek their input regarding the challenges faced by the power sector in Sierra Leone.
Alice Albright is said to be impressed with the performance of this government on a number of fronts, including the Free Quality School Education, protection of women and girls, empowerment of women, political freedom, media freedom, increased access to justice, the fight against corruption, among others, and is expected to express this during her meetings with the President and the Vice President.
The MCC intervention in Sierra Leone will free up resources that will be invested in other critical areas of economic development, and also support private sector development by ensuring reliable and affordable electricity, which will cut down on expenditure by both the government and consumers.
