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June 2006
Vol. 2 Issue 6
Recent Events
MCC in the News
Notable Quotable
"Over the past several months, the Committee to Protect Journalists has documented and protested against a vicious crackdown on press freedom in the Gambia,” said Julia Crawford in a statement welcoming the decision by MCC’s Board of Directors of to suspend the country’s eligibility to negotiate a compact. “Authorities have shuttered a critical newspaper, imprisoned journalists without due process, and moved to prosecute a reporter under a restrictive press law,” she added.
Johann P. Fritz, Director the of the International Press Institute in Vienna suggested that MCC’s decision “reflects a growing recognition that freedom of the press and an independent media are fundamental to sustainable development and fighting corruption, which is ruining so many Africans' lives. In general, governments that fail to uphold these rights should not receive the benefit of assistance,” Fritz said, adding, “A free press is an additional layer of insurance against corruption. Donors should not have to assist governments where, without the additional benefit of a free press, their money may be siphoned out of development projects and into the hands of corrupt officials and businessmen."
Ask the Expert
Charlotte Bingham
Director, Environment and Social Assessment
Charlotte Bingham is Director, Environmental and Social Assessment at MCC. She is responsible for ensuring that environmental and social (including resettlement) aspects of projects supported by MCC Compacts meet the requirements of MCC Environmental Guidelines. She performs due diligence on Compact proposals and monitors projects during implementation. As such, she provides guidance on conducting Environmental Impact Assessment and Resettlement Action Plans and reviews their acceptability; she works with host country governments, contractors and internal MCC transaction teams.
Ms. Bingham has over 30 years experience in environmental and social assessment. Prior to joining MCC, she was a Lead Environmental Specialist at the World Bank. She coordinated the Bank’s management responses to Inspection Panel cases and advised Bankwide on safeguards for controversial and sensitive projects. She was the Africa Region Safeguards Coordinator where she directed a team of specialists to ensure safeguards compliance and technical support for over 100 projects per year. Previously, she served as the Senior Environmental Advisor for USAID/REDSO/ESA covering 15 USAID Missions in eastern and Southern Africa; she was responsible for compliance with Regulation 216 and trained over 600 NGO and country counterpart staff in environmental and social assessment. For 17 years, Ms. Bingham played a key role in environmental and social assessment with a major A&E consulting firm where she became Senior Vice President in charge of Environmental Assessment and Socioeconomic Studies. She has also taught courses in environmental assessment and was a faculty member at Wheaton College (Norton, MA).
Ms. Bingham graduated magna cum laude with an A.B. in Natural Resources from Barnard College (New York, NY) where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She has a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from the University of California at Berkeley. She has pursued advanced studies in French and environmental psychology with special focus on attachment to place and ownership of natural resources.
Ask Charlotte a question by sending an email to newsletter@mcc.gov. Please include your name, organization, contact information, city and state with your question.
Term of the Month
Candidate vs. Eligible
Countries become candidates for Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) assistance simply by meeting one of two income tests and by not being subject to any number of U.S. or international sanctions. The income measurement includes two categories, the first for countries that are low income, having a per capita income less than $1,575; and the second for countries that qualify as lower middle income and having a per capita annual income of between $1,575 and $3,255.
Eligible countries are chosen by the MCC Board of Directors from the list of candidate countries. Being eligible allows each country the opportunity to prepare a proposal for MCA assistance. The Board chooses eligible countries based on 16 independently measured indices including political and economic freedom, investment in education, control of corruption, respect for civil liberties, health care spending, fiscal and trade policies and judicial fairness.
Both candidate and eligible countries are evaluated annually. Countries must qualify as a candidate country to be considered for eligibility each year
“Country Status Report” Fact Sheets
MCC is pleased to launch the “Country Status Report” fact sheets for each of the 23 MCA eligible countries. The purpose of these fact sheets is to give you a snapshot of the progress each country has made. These fact sheets will be updated monthly and can be found by clicking here.
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