|
March 2006
Vol. 2 Issue 3
Recent Events
MCC in the News
Notable Quotable
“In the end, what counts is not just what we spend, but what we achieve, so one of the ways the Bush administration has transformed the landscape of development assistance is through the Millennium Challenge Account. This new approach ties unprecedented levels of direct assistance to accountability, transparency and measurable outcomes. The President said, "When nations close their markets and opportunity is hoarded by a privileged few -- no amount of development aid is ever enough. When nations respect their people, open markets, invest in better health and education, every dollar of aid, every dollar of trade revenue, and domestic capital is used more effectively." To qualify for funding, countries must meet a tough set of standards that have broad international consensus. Eligible nations have to meet traditional economic targets for growth and poverty reduction. And they have to meet other goals as well: fighting corruption, educating girls and making rural development a priority -- in short, investing in the lives of their people.”
Karen Hughes
Under Secretary, Public Diplomacy
and Public Affairs
Address to Business Leaders in Seattle, Washington
February 27, 2006
(Event hosted by the Initiative for Global Development)
article
Ask the Expert
March Expert: Dr. Jolyne Sanjak – Senior Director for Property Rights and Land Policy
Dr. Jolyne Sanjak is Senior Director for Property Rights and Land Policy. She is responsible for assessing the relevant aspects of MCC Compact development and for oversight of Compact implementation. She joined MCC in February 2005 and has nearly 20 years of experience related to land tenure, property registration, and land markets as well as broader themes related to rural development and economic growth. Prior to joining MCC, Dr. Sanjak worked as lead specialist on property rights and land policy and for rural development in USAID's Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. She also contributed significantly to USAID global efforts on special themes such as remittances and land conflict management.
Prior to her work for the U.S. government, Dr. Sanjak spent many years as an assistant professor of economics at the State University of New York at Albany, teaching a diverse set of courses including microeconomics, urban economics, environmental economics and graduate level courses in economic development. She actively engaged in research focused mainly on land tenure, agricultural productivity, and land market access by the poor. She participated in all aspects of research including survey design and implementation, data analysis and publication of results. During this time period, Dr. Sanjak also worked as a research associate and project manager in Macedonia and Honduras with the University of Wisconsin, Land Tenure Center. Finally, she engaged with the FAO, World Bank and the InterAmerican Development Bank in preparing policy papers and workshops related to land policy. Dr. Sanjak holds Ph. D. in agricultural economics from the University of Wisconsin. She also holds a MS in agricultural economics with a specialization in natural resource management from Penn State University.
Ask Jolyne a question: Newsletter@mcc.gov
Term of the Month:
“FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY”
A key element of all Compact development and execution will be fiscal accountability—the mechanisms and processes that assure that funds are managed properly and procurements are undertaken in a fair, open, and transparent manner. MCC is utilizing US taxpayer funds and is accountable for those funds. The requirement to meet these accountability standards will guide the design and be a key element of MCC Program implementation. As in many elements of MCC's approach, the lessons of development assistance over the last few decades have shaped MCC's fiscal accountability strategy. The core of the strategy is that each MCC Compact and related documents must include financial accountability mechanisms for MCC funded activities that ensure that funds and procurements are managed properly and in a fair, open, and transparent manner.
|