The race is on for FY2013 Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funding. Several countries pass the MCC’s indicators test for the first time ever this year and a record number of countries are contenders for second compacts. The MCC board of directors will decide which of these countries will be eligible for—though not guaranteed—assistance when they meet on December 19, 2012.
Three conditions are notable during this year’s selection process: scarce resources, a new MCC selection process, and fierce competition among countries.
The MCA Monitor predicts that the MCC will select the following new countries as eligible for first compacts: Liberia, Niger, and Sierra Leone. The MCC will also likely select Tanzania as eligible for a second compact. The board is all but certain to reselect Benin, Ghana, El Salvador, and Georgia to keep developing second compacts. The board may also select Morocco for a new threshold program.