Vice President Dr Juldeh Jalloh left for Senegal yesterday for a study tour of how the country has implemented its US Millennium Challenge Cooperation (MCC) projects which it has tremendously benefited.
According to a statement from the Sierra Leone embassy in Dakar, the VP will lead a team of senior cabinet ministers, the Financial Secretary and the Chief Executive Officer of MCC to Sierra Leone.
The statement says the delegation seeks to “gain an understanding of Senegal's Compact development process including the analysis phase and consultation process. As well as deep dive into Compact development – especially the root cause analysis which led to the prioritisation of the areas in the energy sector that would be the focus of the Compact”.
They hope to build cooperation and collaboration between key Government Ministries and the two Governments.
The statement says while in Dakar the delegation will ensure targeted and structured engagements, and will hold key thematic discussions on the Compact development and implementation.
“Thematic areas to look at are the Compact Development consultation process, high level overview of Senegal's compact development and deep dive into project development phase” it says.
They delegation will also hold discussion with the various Ministries of Petroleum and Gas, Water Resources, Finance, Energy and Power, and the relevant heads of utility services.
The Sierra Leone Minister of Finance, Jacob Jusu Saffa, the Minister of Economic Planning and Development- Dr. Francis Kai Kai and the Chief Executive Officer, Sierra Leone's MCC Accountability Entity- Mrs Ndeye Fatu Koroma formed part of the delegation.
The MCC program was established by the United States of America in 2004 and it offers targeted assistance to poor countries that have a record of good governance and are considered solid prospects for economic growth.
Those who meet the stringent conditions are rewarded with multimillion-dollar investment packages.
Senegal has consistently qualified for the MCC Compact programme and in September 2009, it signed a $ 540 million aimed at reducing poverty and economic growth.
In 2018, the country also signed a Compact agreement with the MCC designed to increase reliability and access to electricity, support economic growth and reduce poverty.
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