|
The Face of U.S. Assistance to
Cape Verde
In March 2002 , President Bush called for a "new compact
for global development," which links greater contributions from developed
nations to greater responsibility from developing nations. The President
proposed a concrete mechanism to implement this compact - the Millennium
Challenge Account (MCA) - in which development assistance would be provided to
those countries that rule justly, invest in their people, and encourage economic
freedom. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) was established with
bipartisan support on January 23, 2004 to administer the MCA.
On July 4, 2005, the United States, through the MCC, signed a
five-year Compact in excess of $110 million with the Republic of Cape Verde
to support the country's goal of poverty reduction through economic growth.
The Compact will help the development of Cape Verde by making sizeable
investments in water resources, agricultural productivity, major port and road
improvements, construction of bridges and initiatives to promote the private
sector, including improving investment climate and reforms in the financial
sector. MCA Cape Verde was established to manage the implementation of the
compact.
For further information, please visit MCC and MCA-Cape Verde
websites: www.mcc.gov and www.mca.cv.
The MCC Resident mission (MCC-Cape Verde) has been present in
the country since January 2006.
The United States supports Cape Verde’s economic development in a variety
of ways. More than 40 Peace Corps Volunteers, spread over 8 of the 9 inhabited
islands, are engaged in teaching and community development.
Peace Corps Volunteer Toby Syrus
teaching a mechanics class at the Techical Highschool in Assomada
Peace Corps Volunteer Alexis Adorno
with children in a Cape Verdean preschool. The furniture was donated by
the American NGO ForCHILDREN, Inc.
Because rainfall on the islands is so scarce, Cape Verde has to import
nearly all of its food needs. The United States, through donations of food
assistance under PL-480, is one of Cape Verde’s important partners. This
five-year $15.7
million food assistance program, which is administered by a U.S.
non-governmental institution called ACDI/VOCA, extends to four islands and reaches
the majority of the archipelago's population.
PL 480 Corn Arrives in Praia
The food assistance is sold in country, and the funds generated by the sales
are used by ACDI/VOCA to help maximize food security and agricultural output of the country.
In this regard, drip agriculture has been a major help to increase yields from
the limited arable land available, while using water in the most efficient way
possible. The effects of such drip-irrigation agriculture can be seen very clearly in the
following picture:
Rural Drip Agriculture
Effect of Drip Agriculture
The U.S. military also has an active humanitarian assistance program. Over
the last several years, the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) has financed over a
million dollars worth of projects on the various islands, building community
centers which can be used in the case of natural disaster, but which are also
available for local grass-roots needs such as libraries and cultural centers.
The picture below shows one such project under construction on the island of
Fogo:
EUCOM- Financed Community Center
|
