It’s bright and early, and we are bumping along a busy road on the outskirts of Accra on our way to the village of of Big Ado where we will meet Zuta, a good friend of Jim McDonald. The roads running along the coast seem surprisingly good, and I’m especially struck by the fact that traffic signals seem more mandatory than optional here. We’ve been invited to a church service to celebrate the Harvest. It’s been a good year for many farmers in Ghana, and they are rejoicing.
We pass through the city of Tema, a major port city in Ghana and I am also struck by the amount of industrial business taking place in the city. Tema is busy, and seems to be a good place to do business. I wonder how much of this business minded focus is reflected across the rest of the country.
This question is answered in part in our meeting with Katerina N’Tep, the Country Director with the Millennium Challenge Corporation in Ghana.
Continue reading "Day 2 - Making Good Business" »
Last Friday's New York Times front page story had the ominous title "U.S. Agency's Slow Pace Endangers Foreign Aid". But the article went on to present a nuanced analysis about the delicate balance between the short term concerns of Congress as it puts together a budget for the Federal Government and for foreign aid programs in FY 2008 and the long-term commitment to developing countries through the Millennium Challenge Corporation's country programs.
One of the reforms embodied in the MCC was the ability to provide developing countries with a reliable stream of funding for development projects. This was long overdue recognition that development takes time and the way that U.S. aid programs have traditionally been funded, relying on annual appropriations from Congress, did not allow developing countries to put into place multi-year programs--the kind that are needed for the challenges that face the poorest communities.
As appropriators in Congress are moving to finalize the appropriations bills that will fund the federal government next year, they are searching for places to find savings. Unfortunately they are eyeing the
Continue reading "MCA innovation in jeopardy" »
