The Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) ability to say “no” sets the agency apart, according to MCC CEO Daniel Yohannes. In a major policy speech yesterday he explained that the MCC says “no” to poorly-governed countries and bad investments. This selectivity allows the MCC to focus on a smaller set of poor, well-governed countries, better ensuring scarce U.S. development dollars result in economic growth and reduced poverty.Yohannes’ remarks come roughly one year after his confirmation as MCC CEO. Yohannes said under his leadership, the MCC and the Obama administration’s new global development policy is “building on the best ideas of the Bush administration.” In a savvy political move, Yohannes’ speech was co-hosted by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the Center for American Progress (CAP), representing the right and left end of the political spectrum and demonstrating bipartisan support for the MCC model. Yohannes, in a departure from speeches I have heard him give before, focused on the MCC’s role in the broader U.S. development policy landscape and the attributes that distinguish the MCC mission and way of doing business. He outlined five development ideas that have broad political support inside and outside the Beltway:
- America’s global leadership should include leadership on development challenges.
- U.S. development should focus on economic growth.
- Accountability and selectivity matter.
- Countries are partners not clients.
- Real results and impact are key, not how much is spent.
He said the Obama administration’s new global development policy is focused on putting these principles into action, and that “of course, we have been practicing them at MCC for the last seven years.”AEI panelist Mauro De Lorenzo, who previously staffed Senator Bill Frist on the MCC board, agreed that there has been “something of a revolution in aid effectiveness thinking” and that “the MCC is one of the best examples of this.” John Norris, from CAP, said development is far more likely to work when partner governments are committed to reform, their own people, and combating corruption. “I think that’s why there has been a great deal of support for the MCC approach,” said Norris, and “why the MCC approach really works very well in trying to promote economic development with a certain strata of countries.”The president of the Republic of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, who introduced Yohannes and is excited about the results of the first MCC compact in Georgia and prospects for a second, said “the MCC method reinforces and encourages responsible governance by requiring governments to meet certain standards before they can qualify” and “requiring governments to develop their own proposals for the compacts encourages them to build their management capacity.”There were a few areas of Yohannes’ speech that were a bit repetitive and sounded more like the usual MCC remarks (MCC focuses on gender, embraces partnerships, the private sector, etc. without many specifics). But I, for one, was thrilled to hear Yohannes focus on development policy and emphasize what the MCC doesn’t do. Too often there is a tendency to imply that an agency is doing everything, which is counterproductive. For example, I used to cringe when members of Congress would ask, “What is the MCC doing about refugees in Chad?” The MCC would often do an artful dance around the question instead of saying bluntly, “Nothing!” because the MCC’s job is specifically not to focus on refugees in Chad.I suspect the need to be more blunt and much clearer about what different U.S. development agencies do—and don’t do—will be critical in the tough budget and political environment ahead. While this may arguably be easier to do with the MCC (because it was set up recently with a much more targeted mission and mandate), Yohannes has set a good example. And his speech goes a long way in positioning him and the MCC squarely within the current development policy debates and as a real player with Democrats and Republicans in the 112th Congress.
