President Bingu wa Mutharika has pledged to continue to adhere to democratic principles and good governance during the implementation of the Malawi compact.

President Mutharika was speaking during the signing ceremony of the US$ 350 million Compact agreement between the Government of Malawi and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US Government foreign aid agency (mcc.gov). 

The Malawi leader emphasized that the governments of Malawi and the United States will work together in their commitment to adhering to internationally accepted democratic and governance principles until the compact is fully implemented.

“Let me assure the government of the United States that my Government will continue to adhere to and uphold democracy and good governance, freedom of expression, association, religion and worship, economic and academic pursuits,” said President Mutharika.

Malawi was selected for the Compact in 2007 after demonstrating a commitment to just and democratic governance, investments in her people and economic freedom. Since then, the MCC has continuously assessed Malawi using seventeen policy indicators centred on the three policy issues.

Malawi will be continuously assessed on these indicators, during the five year period of the implementation of the Compact.

In his remarks during the signing ceremony, MCC Vice president for Compact Operations Patrick Fine said the MCC believes in the principles set out in the programme and expects all partner countries to meet the high standards and to serve as examples to other to countries that fall short.

“Qualifying for MCC financing is not a one-shot deal, we expect our partners to live up to these commitments throughout the life of the Compact”, said Fine.  

Activities under the MCC US$ 350 million grant are: infrastructure development, policy reform, environmental and natural resource management, and programme support. Sub activities to be carried out on the infrastructure development include the refurbishment of the Nkula A hydro-power substation, transmission and distribution network upgrades, and the management of the environment and natural resources.