The news of Malawi gaining compact status under the Millennium Challenge Account went out on the MCA website at 6 a.m. Malawi time today (December 13, 2007) on a bright and sunny morning in Lilongwe. Our team in Malawi was keeping vigil until the news was announced and met in their office early in the morning for an impromptu celebration with Christmas cake and cheer.

The C&A Anticorruption Team has been on the ground in Malawi since April 2006 on a USAID/MCC funded project to help Malawi implement the Threshold Country Plan to gain compact status under the MCA. One of the areas which Malawi had to improve was fighting corruption. To this end, C&A has implemented the Strengthening Government Integrity in Malawi (SGIM) project, with partners from government, academia, civil society and the media. During the project period, Malawi’s corruption indicator turned from red to green, and the sovereign credit rating went up from a CCC to a B-.

This is indeed Malawi’s moment of triumph. C&A is extremely proud to be part of this victory for this small developing country in southern Africa. The U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Treasury, and the State University of New York are also partners in the implementation of the USAID/MCA threshold country plan.

Contact

Larry Ott
(703) 920-1234
lott@casals.com