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November 2005
Vol. 1 Issue 1
Introduction
Welcome to the first edition of Millennium Challenge Monthly, MCC's newsletter to provide information on recent MCC events, highlight news and coverage of the MCC and articulate policies and programs that makes the MCC unique. It is our goal to make the newsletter concise, interesting and informative. We welcome your input on how best to accomplish that, so please feel free to e-mail us at newsletter@mcc.gov with your comments and suggestions.
Sincerely,
MCC Congressional and Public Affairs
Recent Events
MCC Selects FY06 eligible countries
Ambassador John Danilovich begins term as new CEO
Foreign Operations Bill
MCC enters into formal negotiations with Armenia, Benin and Vanuatu.
Threshold agreement signed with Malawi
MCC in the News
Notable Quotable
“And so the Millennium Challenge Account is an account that chooses countries for American assistance that are governing wisely, that are investing in their people, that are committed to democracy, that are committed to open markets, that are committed to the health and education of their people. And because of the funding that we have received from the Congress, we are able to push forward this new model of development. And I can tell you that when countries come to my office, they very often have their little brochure on why they'd be a good Millennium Challenge Account recipient. It's making a difference in the way that people think about foreign assistance.”
--Secretary Condoleezza Rice at the U.S. Global Leadership
Campaign's 10th Anniversary Gala Dinner, November 8, 2005
In Depth: MCC & the Environment
MCC recognizes that the pursuit of sustainable economic growth and a healthy environment are necessarily related. MCC has taken specific steps to ensure that the projects undertaken as part of the programs funded under Millennium Challenge Compacts with eligible countries are environmentally sound, are designed to operate in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and, as required by the legislation establishing MCC, are not likely to cause a significant environmental, health or safety hazard. Read More.
Term of the Month: Consultative Process
Following the selection of eligible countries, each country is invited to submit a Compact proposal that identifies its priorities for achieving sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. This proposal must be the result of a consultative process as defined below.
con·sul·ta·tive proc·ess: A good consultative process is (1) timely, (2) participatory and (3) meaningful. A timely process is ongoing; governments should therefore ensure (a) wide initial discussion of the program, (b) ongoing feedback on and the rationale for decisions made throughout the process, (c) project-level consultations with potential beneficiaries or potentially affected parties during program development, (d) public participation during implementation and (e) broad dissemination of information related to the program to permit informed citizen oversight.
A participatory process takes into account a broad range of views. In addition to engaging government officials and legislators at the national and local levels, countries should ensure that representatives from local and international NGOs, large and small enterprises in the private sector and rural and urban civil society groups are aware of the opportunity to participate in consultations to shape their country's MCA program.
A meaningful process allows citizens to have genuine input into the process.
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