In August 2006, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, or MCC, signed a five-year, $547 million Compact with the Republic of Ghana. Investments made by the MCC are aimed at reducing poverty and raising incomes through development partnerships led by local business people. Aaron Sherinian is the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Managing Director for Public Affairs.
Aaron Sherinian:
The Millennium Challenge Corporation in Ghana is a really exciting example of how the U.S. government is working in partnership with Africa. We have a diverse and really comprehensive program that’s helping the people address the issue of poverty reduction. It’s really a smart development program. It’s smart because we went to them – we went to the Ghanaian people and said what is it that you need that will help your people lift themselves out of poverty. And they came up with the programs and the program that we have with them currently is a $547 million partnership and it really touches every piece of the population.
Narrator:
The Millennium Challenge Corporation presents an integrated development path. In addition to empowering local professionals, it supports other U.S. development programs.
Aaron Sherinian:
So this is not the U.S. Government telling Ghana what it needs to do, it’s the U.S. Government helping provide Ghana with what it says it needs. And the Millennium Challenge Corporation has partnered with these folks and said the U.S. Government wants to help you address the issue. These programs are helping increase the effectiveness of all U.S. Government programs. So, if you have, for example, the Peace Corps, that’s so active in so many countries, or USAID with its very important contribution in a lot of these countries, Millennium Challenge Corporation can come in and add services and training and assistance that helps complete the whole process. It really forms an integrated approach to what is U.S. Government assistance in a country.
Narrator:
In Ghana, Millennium Challenge Corporation is helping local businesses with the things it needs to build their own economic future. Part of this joint effort is improving transportation, especially the N1 highway.
Aaron Sherinian:
It’s a major artery for traffic, for moving goods, for moving people, for helping people have access to services like health. The improvement of that road is going to change people’s lives. I was just in Ghana. I talked to so many people and I said what does this improved road mean for you? And they said it’s a dream come true. It’s a dream of decades, literally; since the 60’s and 70’s they’ve been needing this improved road. And thanks to the American people, they’re going to see the road improved. It’s going to be a modern highway that will connect the farmers to the capital, to eventually the port.
Narrator:
Education improvement is another large part of the Millennium Challenge Corporation partnership with Ghana.
Aaron Sherinian:
I’ll tell you, I was just at a school. … It was a place I will never forget. As we pulled up into the school, there were hundreds of students with huge smiles on their faces and the smiles were on their faces because they had more modern classrooms with desks made by Ghanaian people, a facility for the teachers to prepare in and you could tell this meant the beginning of a new future for these kids. So these schools are really going to have a huge impact on the people of these villages and on the people of Ghana.
Narrator:
As U.S. President Barack Obama prepares to visit Ghana, Sherinian says that partnership is a big theme of the visit.
Aaron Sherinian:
I was so impressed to see the signs all throughout the country saying “President Barack Obama welcome home” or “you’re welcome in Ghana” or many signs that have messages of this nature. In fact, I picked up while I was there some of the fabric that has printed messages of welcome to the President in the local languages. And you can see that there’s really an expectation for messages of partnership and people really feel that we have a partnership of tangible results with Ghana.
Narrator:
In a globalized world, the successful development of economies in Africa is a real concern for Americans and their prosperity. The future for partnerships, demonstrated by the activities of the Millennium Challenge Corporation and local Ghanaian officials, entrepreneurs, and citizens, continues to play a critical role in achieving those goals.
Aaron Sherinian:
When U.S. taxpayers think about how their money gets used and where it’s invested, I think Africa is a great example of a lot of potential. We have a long way to go, but we are seeing tangible results on the ground of how smart assistance, smart development approaches, where we put the country in charge, that are making real changes, real impact in the lives of their people. That’s an investment that reaps rewards for generations. We asked the Ghanaians to administer the program and they are, again, capable, competent people who are able to see this program through its entire course.
We know that upcoming trips are going to put the spotlight on Ghana, on West Africa, on sub-Saharan Africa, on the entire continent. And helping Africa is something that benefits the U.S. taxpayer, it benefits our country, and it’s something that our generations need to be focused on – ways to partner with Africa so that the world as a whole, the economy as a whole, our societies as a whole really improve. I’m excited to see that happen. We’re going to talk a lot about Africa in July, and the U.S. Government has a lot to say about what has been a solid commitment to the people of that continent.
Narrator:
This podcast is produced by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs. Links to other Internet sites or opinions expressed should not be considered an endorsement of other content and views.
This podcast was originally published on July 9, 2009. Click here to listen.
