FRUSTRATED BY SLOW PACE OF MCA AND OTHER

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAKAR 001845 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR AF, EB, AF/EPS AND AF/W NSC FOR AF SENIOR DIRECTOR COURVILLE PARIS FOR POL - D'ELIA E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/01/2016 TAGS: EAID EINV KMCA SG SUBJECT: FRUSTRATED BY SLOW PACE OF MCA AND OTHER ASSISTANCE, WADE STILL SPEAKS OF MCA COMPACT SIGNING IN SEPTEMBER Classified By: Ambassador Janice L. Jacobs for reasosn 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) On July 27, President Abdoualye Wade held a press conference at which he confirmed his candidacy for the February 2007 presidential election, announced that he expects to sign the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Compact in Washington in September, and highlighted his frustration with Western donors. Aware that MCA pre-feasibility should be complete in September, President Wade told the press that President Bush hopes that everything will be signed and that disbursement will begin in September. Wade complained that the World Bank, the United States and European nations, with the exception of Spain, are slow releasing development assistance and attach numerous pre-conditions, whereas &Aid from Asian countries is fast and direct.8 ¶2. (C) COMMENT: Since April, President Wade has been seeking an invitation to go to the White House to sign Senegal,s MCA Compact. His comments about slow assistance undoubtedly reflect not only his impatience with the MCA Compact development, study and due diligence processes but also his awareness that other Compacts are being signed. Wade may have used the news conference to pressure the MCC to sign a Compact by the end of the year. He may also be laying the groundwork to blame the United States if a Compact is not signed on his schedule. Embassy recommends that the Department work with the MCC and the NSC on a formal letter addressing the remaining issues and the timeline. END COMMENT. JACOBS