Liberia: Government Passes Half of MCC Scorecard for Fiscal Year 2025

MONROVIA — Liberia has passed 11 out of 20 indicators in the Millennium Challenge Corporation scorecard for 2025 Financial Year, marking a slight decline from the previous year’s 14.

By Selma Lomax selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com

Liberia’s MCC 2025 Scorecard reveals a mixed performance. While Liberia showcased successes in Land Rights, Employment Opportunities, Political Rights, Civil Liberties, Control of Corruption, Rule of Law, and Freedom of Information, these accomplishments were counterbalanced by shortcomings in Fiscal Policy, Inflation, Trade Policy, Government Effectiveness, Health Expenditures, and Natural Resource Protection, Girls’ Pri Edu Completion Rate, and Rule of Law.

Notably, the control of corruption indicator witnessed a 2% decline, meeting MCC’s standards but falling from last year’s score. The overall score dropped to 76%, compared to 79% in the previous year. 

Despite consistently passing the controlling corruption indicator, Liberia, under President Joseph Boakai, faces challenges in implementing anti-corruption measures effectively. 

Almost a year into his six-year tenure, Boakai’s anti-corruption fight rests on a tripod due to what appears to be the politicization of the anti-corruption fight and refusal to investigate accusations that some of his “loyal allies” have cast doubt on the fight.

The MCC, established in 2004 by the U.S. Congress, aims to collaborate with the world’s poorest nations committed to democratic governance and economic freedom.

The mandatory Control of Corruption indicator is one of the 20 indicators monitored by the MCC, out of which countries are required to pass at least 10, in order to qualify for the MCC Compact, a five-year hefty grant from the United States Government.

Things to Know about the MCC Process

The (MCC) is an innovative and independent U.S. foreign assistance Agency that is helping lead the fight against global poverty. 

MCC provides time-limited grants promoting economic growth, reducing poverty, and strengthening institutions. These investments not only support stability and prosperity in partner countries but also enhance American interests.

The MCC is distinct, as it forms partnerships with developing countries that are committed to good governance, economic freedom, and investing in their citizens, the three thematic areas that house the 20 indicators. 

MCC is a prime example of smart U.S. Government assistance in action, benefiting both developing countries and American taxpayers through; Competitive selection by the MCC’s Board, which examines a country’s performance on 20 independent and transparent policy indicators and selects countries based on policy performance, Country-led solutions, which requires selected countries to identify their priorities for achieving sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction and develop their MCC proposals in broad consultation within their society, Country-led implementation,wherein successfully selected country establishes a local accountable entity to manage and oversee all aspects of implementation.

MCC employs technically rigorous, systematic, and transparent methods of projecting, tracking, and evaluating the impacts of its programs. There are three primary types of MCC grants; the Compacts, which is a huge, five-year multi-million dollar grants for selected countries that meet MCC’s eligibility criteria, Concurrent Compacts for Regional Investments, grants that promote cross-border economic integration, and increase regional trade and collaboration and the Threshold Programs, which are smaller grants focused on policy and institutional reform in selected countries that come close to passing MCC’s eligibility criteria and show a firm commitment to improving their policy performance.

What is MCC achieving?                                                   

MCC projects tackle some of the most pressing challenges people face in developing countries, like supplying electricity so businesses can operate and students can study after dark; providing clean drinking water so women don’t have to walk long distances, sometimes at great personal risk to get water for their families, and building roads so farmers can get their goods to market and children can get to school.

MCC has invested more than $14 Billion in compact and threshold programs worldwide that support country-led projects in areas as stated above since its commencement.

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