In July 2005, Burkina Faso became the first country to sign a threshold program with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). The $12.9 million threshold program, aimed at improving the country’s failing girls’ primary school completion indicator, consisted of building 132 ‘girl-friendly’ schools in rural communities along with social mobilization campaigns. On the basis of an independent impact evaluation, the program was considered a great success, with positive effects on school enrollment and math and French test scores. The program did not, however, make a measurable difference in improving Burkina Faso’s girls’ primary school completion rate to a passing score.
The MCC named Burkina Faso as eligible for a full compact in 2006. Burkina’s $480.9 million compact, focusing on agriculture, roads, land tenure, and girls’ education, was signed in July 2008 and should begin entry into force (EIF) in July 2009. Burkina is only the second country to transition from a MCC threshold program to compact implementation, but was the 17th MCC compact signed. It is clear that Burkina’s compact benefitted greatly from the experience of those countries that preceded it and the lessons learned by the MCC along the way. The compact development stage is a story of smart staging of prior actions in order to leverage more immediate returns at EIF and leadership, ownership, and commitment at the highest levels of government and at every level of society.
Due to early action and well-used 609(g) funds, Burkina had procurement and fiscal agents and the accountable entity in place before signing, and tax agreements were finalized shortly thereafter. Also, the maximum amount of Compact Implementation Funds (CIF)3 allotted to Burkina allowed the team a full year between signing and EIF for long-term planning and contracts establishment. This smart sequencing allowed Burkina to move forward quickly and an estimated 60 percent of procurement RFPs (non-administrative) will be launched prior to EIF of the compact.
Strong leadership and ownership at every level is also a compelling feature of the Burkina story. At the very top, the Prime Minister is perhaps the MCC’s greatest advocate. His enthusiasm and commitment is taken up by senior government officials. The Government of Burkina Faso (GOBF) also put its (scarce) money where its mouth is, providing $5.9 million of its own money to help cover costs for compact development. The accountable entity, Millennium Challenge Account–Burkina Faso (MCA-BF), has a top notch team and the MCA-BF, MCC and GOBF teams have open and honest relationships, fostering mutual trust and respect. Ownership by the people and consultations conducted for the people is also evident. The country’s impressive series of consultations—including over 3,100 people in all 13 regions of Burkina Faso and continuing media and information campaigns—reveals a pervasive sense of country ownership which goes deeper than just the government.
Yet the compact also poses risks and challenges to both the MCC and the GOBF. The sheer size and complexity of the compact will challenge the capacity of the GOBF in the implementation stage. In 2007, Burkina received $411.8 million from all OECD-DAC donors combined.4 With the compact, the United States will more than quadruple its annual assistance to Burkina Faso over the next five years. These factors may then challenge the MCC’s ability to stick to its core standards. The MCC has already deviated from its Economic Rate of Return (ERR) standard in project selection, allowing non-economic issues to trump a key principle of the MCC’s model. It will be important for the GOBF to get out of the starting gate quickly, delivering implementation and disbursement results that satisfy an impatient Congress ever looking to poach what they see as idle funds.
With EIF fast approaching, Burkina has a solid foundation upon which to deliver results. But development is a tricky business and the impact of the financial crisis is yet to be fully realized. The capacity of the GOBF to deliver results will undoubtedly be tested, but at this point, it seems a good bet to be a winner.
Next Section: Threshold Program
1Rebecca Schutte was a research and program assistant at the Center for Global Development from June 2007 through May 2009.
2This report is based on interviews conducted in Burkina Faso during April and May, 2009, and provides a snapshot in time analysis of the threshold program, compact development process, implementation planning, and post-EIF challenges.
3Compact Implementation Fund (CIF) is compact funding available between signing and entry into force which aims to accelerate implementation.
4All figures are from the OECD-DAC database.