Ukraine Signs On to MCC Threshold Program to Control Corruption
Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych marked his first U.S. visit by entering into a landmark agreement aimed at reducing corruption. On December 4, Prime Minister Yanukovych and U.S. Ambassador John Danilovich, Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation were joined by a host of American and foreign dignitaries in Washington, D.C. to witness the signing of a nearly $45 million MCC Threshold agreement by Ukraine Minister of the Economy Volodymyr Makukha and USAID Acting Assistant Administrator for Europe & Eurasia Drew Luten. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a U.S. Government corporation designed to work with some of the poorest countries in the world by directly reinforcing foreign assistance goals with programs that reinforce good governance and economic freedom, and promote economic growth and elimination of extreme poverty.
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| Volodymyr Makukha (left), Ukraine’s Minister of the Economy, and Drew
Luten (right), USAID’s Acting Assistant Administrator for Europe & Eurasia,
congratulate one another upon the signing of the $45 million Millennium
Challenge Corporation Threshold agreement |
The Ukraine initiative is part of MCC’s Threshold Program which assists countries that are on the “threshold” of eligibility for MCC—or Compact—assistance. Threshold Program assistance helps candidate nations address specific weaknesses indicated by their scores on the MCC’s 16 policy indicators. Ukraine, in recognition of reforms already undertaken, was among three countries names as newly eligible for Compact assistance by MCC’s Board of Directors in November.
As the U.S. Government’s lead agency for foreign assistance, USAID administers and implements MCC Threshold programs across the globe. Under the leadership of Earl Gast, Mission Director for Ukraine, Moldova & Belarus and Judith Schumacher, Program Officer, USAID played an instrumental role in advising the Government of Ukraine on the preparation of its program, which is designed to address the country’s poor performance on corruption indicators, and in navigating the rigorous approval process. Specifically, Ukraine’s program aims to strengthen monitoring and exposure of public sector corruption, underwrite judicial reforms, improve government monitoring and enforcement of ethical and administrative standards, streamline enforcement of regulations, and combat corruption in higher education. USAID has already begun adapting its $58 million assistance portfolio in Ukraine to build upon synergies with the new MCC program.
Since 1992, USAID has delivered targeted aid to assist Ukraine with the transition to democratic governance, enacting social sector reforms, and effecting economic growth.
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