United States Ambassador David Reimer welcomed a delegation from the U.S Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to Freetown today, led by MCC’s Chief Executive Officer, Alice Albright. The MCC delegation is here to conduct bilateral meetings to advance the nation’s compact grant program. The Sierra Leone compact aims to increase the availability of affordable and reliable electricity to satisfy demand among households, businesses, and social institutions.

During the three-day visit, MCC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alice Albright, accompanied by Ambassador Reimer and MCC Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Petrie, will meet with His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio and Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, as well as a range of stakeholders, from across the government, donor partners, and private sector representatives.

Additionally, the delegation will visit water kiosks constructed during the MCC funded threshold program that closed in 2021 and meet with community members who benefited from the project. The $44.4 million Threshold program grant improved clean water access and electricity services within Freetown.

“MCC is proud to continue our longstanding partnership with the people of Sierra Leone. Our planned investments, alongside key policy and institutional reforms in the country’s power sector, will facilitate more reliable power for all Sierra Leoneans,” said Albright.

Albright added that the compact will reflect MCC’s continued commitment to promote resilient, long-term benefits to Sierra Leone’s economy.

“MCC has invested more than $9.5 billion with 24 countries in Africa, which are expected to benefit more than 90 million people,” said Albright. “Over the next five years,  MCC expects to sign new compact and threshold program agreements globally worth more than $4 billion, making MCC well positioned to fund significant contributions to tackling the climate crises.”

MCC and the Government of Sierra Leone have been working together to design a compact since December 2020, when the Republic of Sierra Leone was selected by MCC’s Board of Directors. Through the Sierra Leone Compact Development Unit (SLCDU), MCC and the Government of Sierra Leone have conducted several joint analyses on the country’s economy to identify the binding constraints to economic growth and potential opportunities for investments. Together, they identified the power sector as the focus for the compact, and the SLCDU and MCC teams are currently finalizing the project designs to address this challenge.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation is an independent U.S. government development agency working to reduce global poverty through economic growth. Created in 2004, MCC provides time-limited grants that pair investments in infrastructure with policy and institutional reforms to countries that meet rigorous standards for good governance, fighting corruption and respecting democratic rights.