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US SAYS ARMENIA STILL NOT ELIGIBLE FOR MCA PROGRAM
http://asbarez.com/110706/us-says-armenia-still-not-eligible-for-mca-program/
Monday, June 17th, 2013
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan with Ambassador John Heffern on Friday
(Photolure)
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)~WArmenia is still not eligible for renewed large-scale
assistance from the United States which is conditional on political
and economic reforms, U.S. Ambassador John Heffern said on Friday.
Heffern cited the Armenian government~Rs stated efforts to combat
endemic corruption, saying that they have not been deemed satisfactory
by a U.S. government agency managing the Millennium Challenge Account
(MCA) program.
The program is designed to reward developing countries committed to
good governance with targeted economic assistance. Armenia qualified
for the scheme shortly after its launch in 2006, getting $177 million
in MCA funding for the rehabilitation of rural irrigation networks.
The U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) also planned to
allocate another $60 million for the reconstruction of the country~Rs
rural roads. But the MCC scrapped that allocation shortly after a
disputed February 2008 presidential election that was followed by a
harsh government crackdown on the Armenian opposition.
The Armenian government has been trying to secure renewed aid from
the MCC since then. Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan met with Daniel
Yohannes, the corporation~Rs chief executive, when he visited
Washington last December.
~SThe MCC has about 13 indicators,~T Heffern told journalists in
Yerevan. ~SThere are two really critical ones, one of which is
anti-corruption. For a country to be eligible for an agreement with
the MCC, they have to pass those two indicators for sure.~T
~SAs the deputy foreign minister said, Armenia was very close on those
two indicators. It came up a little bit short on the anti-corruption
indicator. So it~Rs really important that Armenia focus very much on
that area,~T the envoy said.
The authorities in Yerevan have repeatedly pledged to tackle bribery,
nepotism and other corrupt practices in earnest. Prime Minister
Sarkisian announced a new anti-corruption drive last November,
urging civic and opposition groups to get involved in it. The latter
dismissed the offer as unserious, however. They claim that President
Serzh Sarkisian is not prepared for a genuine fight against corruption
because it would endanger his hold on power.
Armenia occupied a lowly 129th place in Berlin-based Transparency
International~Rs 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) of 183
countries. It ranked 123rd of 178 nations surveyed in 2010.
http://asbarez.com/110706/us-says-armenia-still-not-eligible-for-mca-program/
Monday, June 17th, 2013
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan with Ambassador John Heffern on Friday
(Photolure)
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)~WArmenia is still not eligible for renewed large-scale
assistance from the United States which is conditional on political
and economic reforms, U.S. Ambassador John Heffern said on Friday.
Heffern cited the Armenian government~Rs stated efforts to combat
endemic corruption, saying that they have not been deemed satisfactory
by a U.S. government agency managing the Millennium Challenge Account
(MCA) program.
The program is designed to reward developing countries committed to
good governance with targeted economic assistance. Armenia qualified
for the scheme shortly after its launch in 2006, getting $177 million
in MCA funding for the rehabilitation of rural irrigation networks.
The U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) also planned to
allocate another $60 million for the reconstruction of the country~Rs
rural roads. But the MCC scrapped that allocation shortly after a
disputed February 2008 presidential election that was followed by a
harsh government crackdown on the Armenian opposition.
The Armenian government has been trying to secure renewed aid from
the MCC since then. Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan met with Daniel
Yohannes, the corporation~Rs chief executive, when he visited
Washington last December.
~SThe MCC has about 13 indicators,~T Heffern told journalists in
Yerevan. ~SThere are two really critical ones, one of which is
anti-corruption. For a country to be eligible for an agreement with
the MCC, they have to pass those two indicators for sure.~T
~SAs the deputy foreign minister said, Armenia was very close on those
two indicators. It came up a little bit short on the anti-corruption
indicator. So it~Rs really important that Armenia focus very much on
that area,~T the envoy said.
The authorities in Yerevan have repeatedly pledged to tackle bribery,
nepotism and other corrupt practices in earnest. Prime Minister
Sarkisian announced a new anti-corruption drive last November,
urging civic and opposition groups to get involved in it. The latter
dismissed the offer as unserious, however. They claim that President
Serzh Sarkisian is not prepared for a genuine fight against corruption
because it would endanger his hold on power.
Armenia occupied a lowly 129th place in Berlin-based Transparency
International~Rs 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) of 183
countries. It ranked 123rd of 178 nations surveyed in 2010.