By: Mohamed Sahr mohamedsahrpro@gmail.com
Sierra Leone Compact Development Unit has applauded the exciting progress made by the President Bio-led administration on the just-published Millennium Challenge Corporation Scorecard by the United States Government through US Embassy in Freetown in a press release on 7th November 2023.
William Freeman, Public Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement Specialist of Sierra Leone Compact Development Unit (SLCDU) wrote in the press release that the MCC Scorecard is one of the tools used to determine eligibility for US assistant programs; adding that Sierra Leone passed ten out of twenty scores. He noted that in the category of Justice, the country makes a landmark pass with five out of six indicators including political rights and civil liberties. “Sierra Leone’s consistent performance in this category reflects the Government’s deep commitment to enhancing the country’s democratic credentials,” Mr. Freeman stated.
He furthered that though there was a slight decline in the percentile rank for Control of Corruption from 79% to 76%, it demonstrates Sierra Leone’s fifth consecutive time of exciting progress in terms of Control of Corruption indicator.
SLCDU Outreach specialist mentioned that Sierra Leone remains amongst the top ten performers in its income category; emphasizing that the country passed the new indicator on Employment Opportunities which was introduced in 2022. He said Sierra Leone performance increased from 44% to 87% on the Financial Year (FY 2024) MCC Scorecard which lands the country amongst the best actors in sub-Saharan Africa.
Mr. Freeman affirmed in the press statement that through the enactment of the Empowerment Act of 2023 and the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act of 2023, Sierra Leone made significant performance in the areas of employment discrimination and disability rights. He said the Robust Workers’ Protection Framework promulgated by these two pieces of legislation lay a solid foundation for achieving one of the Government’s Big Five Game Changers.
Mr. Freeman added that Sierra Leone passed the newly General Education Expenditure indicator which is a testament to the successful implementation of President Bio’s Human Capital Development Initiative that scaled to 22% of Sierra Leone’s budget being dedicated to education over the last five years.
He noted that receiving the MCC Scorecard from the US Ambassador Bryan Hunt proves President Bio’s consistent progress and commitment to the MCC process.
SLCDU Outreach Expert appreciated President Bio’s dedication and performance over the past five years spell. He encouraged the Government of Sierra Leone to redouble its collective efforts to improve performance in other key priority areas.
