NIGER: SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF MCA THRESHOLD PROGRAM

UNCLAS NIAMEY 000334 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/W Jane Dennison ACCRA FOR USAID/WA Henderson Patrick MCC for Deputy CEO Rodney Bent DEPT FOR MCC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN ECON EAID ETRD NG SUBJECT: NIGER: SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF MCA THRESHOLD PROGRAM ¶1. Summary. The March 17, 2008, signing ceremony to launch a US$ 23 million Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Threshold Program for Niger was a huge success. USAID/WA Director Henderson Patrick and GON Finance Minister Lamine Zeine signed the agreement; MCC Deputy CEO Rodney Bent and Ambassador Allen signed as witnesses to the agreement and Prime Minister (PM) Seini Oumarou served as the senior GON official at the event. The PM and MCC Deputy CEO Bent also delivered remarks at the signing ceremony. Nine GON cabinet ministers, the Embassy DCM, other donor country ambassadors, international organization resident representatives (UNDP, IMF, World Bank) and members of civil society were present for the event. The Embassy Public Affairs Office, USAID PSC and FSN Protocol Assistant worked closely with the GON Protocol Office on preparations for the ceremony and other activities that all received wide media coverage (television, print and radio) for three days. End summary. ¶2. Niger's newly launched Threshold Program received extensive media coverage from March 17 to 19. At the signing ceremony press conference, the US delegation lauded the Nigeriens who worked on the concept plan and congratulated the Nigerien people as beneficiaries of the program. The Ambassador emphasized that the concept plan was developed by Nigeriens, truly making it "Niger's" program. Other media coverage included meetings conducted with the GON PM, cabinet ministers (Finance, Commerce, Education, Justice and Foreign Affairs),sectoral committees that worked on the various components in Niger's Threshold Program and, under the escort of both the Minister of Education and the Governor of Tillaberi Region, the US delegation visit to three villages targeted for the girls' education component of the Threshold Program (two of the villages host Peace Corps volunteers). The other components of the Threshold Program relate to reducing corruption, streamlining business creation and improving rights and access to land. ¶3. With the ink barely dry on the Threshold agreement, GON officials, civil society members who worked on the Threshold concept plan and the press raised questions about what needs to be accomplished to reach Compact status. MCC CEO Bent responded by discussing the 17 criteria, emphasizing the importance of fighting corruption and noting that there is an annual evaluation process. ¶4. USAID/WA Director Patrick responded to questions about USAID's role in the implementation of the Threshold Program, and fielded questions related to whether Niger would again play host to a USAID Mission. He emphasized that even without a USAID Mission in Niger, USAID assistance levels for Niger in various sectors (e.g., agriculture, health) are higher than in some USAID-presence countries and are higher than the period when Niger had a USAID Mission. He added that USAID is hiring an employee to work with the GON solely on the MCC Threshold Program. ¶5. To celebrate the signing agreement, the Minister of Finance hosted a March 17 reception and the Ambassador hosted a March 18 dinner at the Chief of Mission residence. ¶6. In addition to the GON cabinet ministers with ministries that will directly benefit from the Threshold Program (i.e., Education, Commerce, and Justice),several ministers from ministries that will only indirectly benefit from the Program participated in several signing ceremony activities (i.e., Women's Protection, Youth Training, Community Development and Agriculture). ¶7. On March 19, MCC CEO Bent and the USAID Niger PSC visited the new MCC Coordination Office and, with UNDP serving as host, met with representatives of most major donors. ¶8. GON officials' remarks consistently focused on the fact that with the signing of the agreement the hard work must immediately begin. Great emphasis has been placed on the need for the Nigerien people to act quickly in order to obtain eligibility for a Compact Agreement in the shortest possible time. ALLEN