Monrovia – Deputy Minister Boakai M. Fofana Sr. , in a Facebook post on November 8, 2022, claimed that the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s administration failed the e Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) scorecard five times before making its first pass during its 12 years administration.
Fact Check Report By: Jerry Gaye | LVL Fact Checker
Wrote Mr. Fofana: “Let’s be clear, the previous administration failed MCC scorecard five times before getting its first pass.”
Mr. Fofana’s comment was in apparent reaction to criticisms that the current administration failed the MCC scorecard several times since coming to power in 2018 before passing the recent one released in early November.
The MCC is an innovative and independent U.S. foreign assistance agency that is helping lead the fight against global poverty. MCC provides time-limited grants promoting economic growth, reducing poverty, and strengthening institutions.
But did the Johnson-Sirleaf administration fail the MCC scorecard five times before getting its first pass? Local Voices Liberia Fact Checking Desk has verified the claim.
First, we checked the MCC scorecards for Liberia to establish how many time has the Millennium MCC published scorecards for the country since the country got enrolled into the program.
Since the MCC came into being in 2004, it has published 18 scorecards or reports on Liberia, with 12 of the reports being published under the administration of former President Sirleaf.
Second, we reviewed the 12 scorecards released during the Johnson-Sirleaf administration to ascertain whether the administration failed consecutive five times before passing once.
For the FY2006 Scorecard, Liberia obtained two pass marks in Civil Liberties and Inflation that could not make the country eligible for the compact grant that year. Liberia also failed the FY2008, FY2009, FY2010, FY2011 and FY2012.
In FY2013, Liberia passed 10 of the 20 indicators, making it the first time the country ever passed the MCC scorecard after years of improvements to its economic governance and strengthening its democratic institutions.
After making the pass in 2013, the MCC and the Liberian Government signed a US$257 million grant agreement to support key energy and road infrastructure projects in the country as part of the MCC grant program. The Compact entered into force on January 20, 2016, and ended on January 21, 2021.
Conclusion
After a careful review of Liberia’s yearly performance after it got enrolled into the MCC program in 2005, we conclude that the country failed the MCC scorecard seven times before getting its first pass in 2013 during the administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Therefore, the claim made by Deputy Minister Boakai M. Fofana Sr. that the previous administration failed MCC scorecard five times before getting its first pass mostly correct. The previous administration failed the MCC scorecard seven times before getting its first pass in 2013 and not five times as claimed by the deputy minister.
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