Moroccan proposals for MCA to be finalised by mid-April

21/03/2006

Moroccan Prime Minister Driss Jettou recently travelled to the United States to defend his country's track record with regard to the Millennium Challenge Account.

By Hassan Benmehdi for Magharebia in Casablanca – 21/03/06

[File] Jettou was happy with his talks with Danilovich.

Moroccan Prime Minister Driss Jettou expressed his general satisfaction with the talks he had earlier this month with John Danilovich, CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). "Much progress has been made and negotiations on the consultative process by which programmes are to be developed should benefit from the MCC's assistance," Jettou said.

In his opinion, meetings between the two parties helped them to progress to a point where within one month, Morocco and the MCC will be able to come to a definitive agreement on the Moroccan programme to be put forward for funding.

Mohamed Chafiki, head of surveys and financial forecasting at the Ministry of Finance and Privatisation, announced that the programmes proposed for MCA funding are to be finalised by mid-April. Recalling the first phase of the consultations took place in Washington and Rabat, Chafiki said new elements will be added including the inclusion of micro-lending into MCA funding, dealing with the issue of self-employment, supporting small craftsmen and fishing, ensuring natural resources are preserved, and protecting the environment.

Chafiki also pointed out that the process of identifying programmes will begin with consultation of the partnerships and local authorities that deal best with constraints on growth and the limitations of anti-poverty projects and are thus in the best position to propose growth areas.

During a press conference at Dar America in January, Danilovich said that Morocco was selected in November 2004 as one of the countries eligible for financial assistance. He added several US senior officials, including President George W. Bush, had been delighted by the reward for the efforts Morocco has made towards development. With regard to the sum of money itself, Danilovich said that the MCC would grant Morocco between $300m and $500m. He also expressed his confidence in the quality of the Moroccan anti-poverty programs.