Another MCC compact for Lesotho

By Limpho Sello

MASERU — Lesotho has secured a second Compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US based agency which sponsors development projects in poorer countries.
According to MCC vice president Khamran Khan one of the factors Lesotho was chosen for the second Compact was because of its control of corruption and adherence to prin­ciples of democracy during the rollout of the first compact.

In 2008 Lesotho was granted a Compact valued at US$362.5 million (over M3 billion) which ended in September last year.

The five-year Compact helped to expand water supply for household and industrial use, strengthened the country’s health care system and removed barriers to foreign and local private sector investment.

Khan said based on the first Compact’s re­port, the board had been impressed with the status of rural water and was hoping for the incorporation of more local business persons in the second Compact.

Lesotho was one of the six African coun­tries which were considered for another Com­pact at last month’s meeting which was held in Washington, USA.

The meeting had resolved that a new Com­pact with Lesotho would offer MCC the op­portunity to have a significant impact on re­ducing poverty and creating economic growth in the country.
The government of Lesotho committed over M500 million of its own money to complete unfinished construction and fund comple­mentary investments.

Through the compact, MCC also supported the passage of landmark legislation that em­powered Basotho women by ending the sec­ond-class status of married women and grant­ing spouses equal rights.

The board had also re-selected Ghana, Li­beria, Morocco, Niger, and Tanzania to con­tinue development of their respective com­pact proposals.

Khan told a media briefing last Friday that Lesotho made incredible strides in the first compact hence looked forward for greater im­pact in the second Compact.

He said he was in the country to meet gov­ernment, the private sector and the civil so­ciety for discussions on the second Compact.

Khan said the discussions would be done consultatively where analyses would be made on what areas should be given priority in the second compact.

Meanwhile, Khan did not disclose how much the second compact would be worth, as that is yet to be determined by the MCC board in consultation with the US Con­gress.