• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News
    • News: Millennium Challenge Corp.

    MCC to compact-seeking partners: Don't relax on corruption

    The Millennium Challenge Corp. turned down Sierra Leone and Benin for a new compact after both failed to meet the benchmark for control of corruption. A senior MCC official tells Devex aspiring partner countries must not relax and need to continuously improve on this issue to ensure the organization’s support.

    By Michael Igoe // 12 December 2013
    Women walk along the road in Benin. The country, together with Sierra Leone, failed to meet the Millennium Challenge Corp,'s benchmark indicator for "control of corruption." Photo by: Daniel Tiveau / CIFOR / CC BY-NC-ND

    The Millennium Challenge Corp.’s board on Tuesday selected Lesotho to begin developing a proposal for the country’s second compact, and decided not to move forward on proposals with Sierra Leone and Benin until they are able to again meet the benchmark indicator for “control of corruption.”

    Although Sierra Leone and Benin both cleared that hurdle last year — and MCC found no evidence to suggest their regression in 2013 was the result of any changes to their policy environments — the performance was likely the result of “statistical noise” or variation in measuring the various indicators of corruption that MCC considers.

    “We cannot connect it to policy. We are not able to draw a link between something the government did and the score,” Alicia Phillips, MCC managing director for development policy, told Devex. “That leads us to believe that there is more of the statistical noise side.”

    Still, the board decided to send a strong message about the importance of the benchmark to encourage Sierra Leone, Benin and other aspiring MCC partner countries to undertake further policy reforms aimed at overcoming corruption as one of the main barriers for international investment.

    “The outcome from yesterday makes really clear that this really matters,” Phillips said. “Looking at the evidence on the ground, we can’t find evidence of decline. But essentially the board is warning countries — you need to continue to improve, because a compact depends on that.”

    In an upcoming exclusive interview with Devex to be published on Friday, the MCC senior official said that while MCC will work with Sierra Leone and Benin to survey possible policy reforms that could return them to eligibility, it is up to the countries themselves to drive those reforms forward and ensure they are effective.

    Read more on U.S. aid reform online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive top international development headlines from the world’s leading donors, news sources and opinion leaders — emailed to you FREE every business day.

      Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

      About the author

      • Michael Igoe

        Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe

        Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.

      Search for articles

      Related Stories

      The future of US aidMCC shutdown would risk global trust, cede ground to China, experts warn

      MCC shutdown would risk global trust, cede ground to China, experts warn

      Most Read

      • 1
        How low-emissions livestock are transforming dairy farming in Africa
      • 2
        Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
      • 3
        Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
      • 4
        How AI-powered citizen science can be a catalyst for the SDGs
      • 5
        WHO names new directors in ongoing restructure
      • News
      • Jobs
      • Funding
      • Talent
      • Events

      Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

      A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Post a job
      • Careers at Devex
      • Contact us
      © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement