Cynthia Huger praised President Bio for his determined fight against corruption and congratulated the Government for passing the “control of corruption” indicator with an impressive score. She also thanked President Bio for the improvement in electricity and water supply adding that “If you need any held along the way then we are happy to help you”. The Head of Agency commended President Bio for his governance reforms and stated that they will also be available to help with the reforms and institutional capacity. “You have the will and determination to move the country forward. With the MCC, we are not asking you to pay back any money but just want to help you,” Cynthia Huger stated.
Responding, President Bio thanked the Head of Agency for recognizing the progress made by his government adding that they are making frantic efforts to meet the eligibility criteria of the Millennium Challenge Corporation. President Bio said that he has assigned the Vice President, Dr Juldeh Jalloh to be in charge of the Millennium Challenge Corporation programme and that he is confident that the Vice President will deliver on it.
President Bio also said that as a government which believes in collective responsibility, at the Ministerial level, deputy ministers have been given primary responsibility for data collection on the Millennium Challenge Corporation scorecard. He highlighted his priority of human capital development, the fight against corruption and commissions of inquiry and the protection of women and girls through the state of emergency declaration. A passionate President Bio said that whilst the government has done a great job on fiscal discipline through revenue mobilization and control of expenditure, he wants these economic gains to trickle down to ordinary people to improve their living conditions.
President Bio said that the eligibility criteria by the Millennium Challenge Corporation must be something every responsible government should aspire to do for their people and should not just wait for the incentives from Millennium Challenge Corporation. During the courtesy call, the United States Ambassador to Sierra Leone, H.E Maria E. Brewer who accompanied Cynthia Huger also thanked President Bio for his efforts in protecting women and girls from rape and sexual violence. The Chief Minister, Professor David J. Francis thanked the Millennium Challenge Corporation for their support and stated that the government will do everything it can to meet the eligibility criteria.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation is an independent U.S. Government agency working to reduce global poverty through economic growth. Created in 2004, MCC provides time-limited grants and assistance to poor countries that meet rigorous standards for good governance, from fighting corruption to respecting democratic rights.
