March 6, 2008

Statement on Kenya and Millennium Challenge Funding

The Millennium Challenge Corporation congratulates the people of Kenya on the recently signed Agreement on the Principles of Partnership of the Coalition Government, and sincerely hopes that it will lead Kenya down the road to a coherent and far-reaching reform agenda, stability, and peace.

For MCC and others around the world, the recent violence in Kenya has caused great concern. As we move forward with our $12.7 million threshold program, a program designed to reduce public-sector corruption in the healthcare and other sectors, we are talking with partners in the U.S. Government, in Kenya, and within the donor community to ensure that our assistance can continue to work for the benefit of the Kenyan people.

MCC's partner countries must pass independent eligibility indicators in order to receive funding for a large-scale poverty reduction grant, or MCC compact. The MCC's FY09 "Country Performance Scorecards" will be issued later this fall, when we will know what impact recent events have had on Kenya's performance on MCC eligibility indicators. We will continue to vigilantly review events in the coming months.

####