Praia, Sept. 3, 2024 (Lusa) - An official source announced on Tuesday that the government of Cabo Verde expects to present the project for the third financial compact package from the United States of America within two years at the latest, the amount of which is not yet known.
"There's still a long way to go. Normally, between 18 months and two years we'll have the package ready for the government to present to the board of directors of the MCC [Millennium Challenge Corporation] and negotiate the compact," said the coordinator of the Programme Development Unit (UDP), Joana Brito, in Praia.
She explained that the government has defined two areas of work: inter-island, international, and intermodal connectivity and digital connectivity.
She added that the areas were defined within the guidelines of the Strategic Sustainable Development Plan—PEDS II, and all the studies that have been carried out in this area are now being collated.
"We're contacting all the institutions and moving on to the phase of analysing the constraints. After that, there's a process of drawing up projects in both areas," she added.
Joana Brito pointed out that the amount will depend on the work done until the project is finalised.
"The private sector will be directly involved in this process, as will civil society. This form of consultation will be implemented throughout the development of the compact, and we will certainly have many opportunities to provide updates on the development of this programme," he said.
Cabo Verde's Deputy Prime Minister Olavo Correia emphasised that the government had decided to allocate the third US compact "to a priority": land, air, sea, digital and human connectivity.
"If we manage, with the support of the compact, to say the best level of service, the best offer, governance based on sustainability and manage to put connectivity at the service of Cabo Verde's diversification and economic growth dynamics, we will be doing the United States a great service to Cabo Verde," he said.
In December 2023, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) announced that the United States' third compact with Cabo Verde under its official development assistance programme would be for regional economic integration.
At the same time, Cabo Verde's prime minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, said the new package would last five years and expressed the country's commitment to development.
In 2005, the MCC, through the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), based in Praia, granted Cabo Verde its first aid package, totalling €84.6 million. This package lasted until 2010 and was aimed at building up the country's infrastructure.
Two years later, it provided a second financial compact worth €50.9 million and ran until 2017 to improve the management of water resources, sanitation, and property management services.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation is an independent US government agency that works to reduce global poverty through economic growth.
Created in 2004, it provides grants and time-limited assistance to countries that fulfil rigorous standards of good governance, the fight against corruption and respect for democratic rights.
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