The US Government through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has ranked Malawi highly in its latest 2019 Scorecard including in the country’s control of corruption.
US has been implementing a five-year $350 million energy compact in Malawi under the Millennium Challenge Account-Malawi.
Annually, MCC releases a scorecard that rates beneficiary countries performance in 20 indicators necessary for the continuation of the programme.
The indicators measure a country’s policy performance in areas of Economic Freedom, Ruling Justly and Investing in its people.
And in the latest scorecard released on November 5, Malawi has performed well in more than 50 percent of the indicators.
Among the areas Malawi has impressed include Control of Corruption and Democratic Rights.
Malawi has scored 65% on Control of Corruption, 73% on Government Effectiveness, 86% on Rule of Law and 88% on Freedom of Information.
Malawi has also scored impressively in Trade Policy, Primary Education Expenditure, Health Expenditure, Civil Liberties and Political Rights, among others.
The 2019 Scorecard comes one month before MCC Board meets to consider the next compact.
It also comes a week after an official closeout of the first compact in which the American people invested $350 million in modernizing Malawi’s power sector.
This impressive performance follows another high rating in the 2018 Scorecard which MCC releases in November last year.
In the 2018 report, MCC said “Malawi continued to pass MCC’s scorecard by meeting the requirement of passing at least half of the 20 indicators overall, including the hard hurdles of Control of Corruption and Democratic Rights.”
Under the Malawi first compact, MCC, a US government programme, and the Government of Malawi worked across the power system to improve infrastructure, strengthen policies, and improve management of natural resources to support power generation.
The programme has seen the rehabilitation and modernization of over 24 substations and transmission stations, more than 420 km of power lines and rehabilitation and modernization of Nkula A Power Station which was commissioned in 1966.
At the ceremony marking the close out of the first compact, President Peter Mutharika was hailed by MCC Vice President Jean Hauch, US Ambassador to Malawi VIrginia Palmer and MCA Malawi Board Chair Simon Itaye for his leadership.
