By Lewis S. The
Liberia’s Finance and Development Planning Minister, Augustine K. Ngafuan, has pledged the government’s unwavering commitment to transformative policies and programs following the country’s approval for a second Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact.
He said the compact signifies a renewed effort to uplift citizens and accelerate national progress.
“Let me say that President Boakai has expressed great joy on behalf of the people of Liberia and sends his deepest appreciation to the government and people of the United States, especially President Donald Trump, for ensuring that Liberia gets the second MCC compact.
As we speak to you, the people of Liberia are excited about the MCC compact, and we at the level of the government will do our part to translate their excitement into tangible outcomes,” Minister Ngafuan said.
Minister Ngafuan spoke before a closed-door meeting on Thursday, January 15, 2026, when the MCC delegation and the Charge d’Affairs of the US embassy paid courtesy visit to the ministry.
In a brief opening statement, the MFDP Boss highlighted the importance of Liberia gaining the second MCC compact. He said, “Now that we have the second compact, it’s not going to be an easy journey, and as a government, we will do all in our power to put this country on the right trajectory.
He praised the MCC delegation that visited Liberia in September to work along with the government to carry out possible analysis for the obtaining of a second compact.
He said In December we saw what happened, and thanks to the strong partnership that continues to exist between Liberia and the United States, and the support from both the MCC management and the US embassy that been with us through those times.
He further stated that the government was elated that Liberia was reaffirmed for the second MCC compact, which was a good Christmas for our people, and President Boakai extended his appreciation to the US government.
Minister Ngafuan informs the delegation of how the government has published vacancy announcements for the recruitment of qualified candidates that will steer the affairs of the MCC office before the kickoff process. “We had a conversation with you and your team, and today your visit here is part of the next steps that you mentioned, so we are grateful as always,” he adds.
For his part, the Charge d’Affairs at the US Embassy, Joseph Zadrozny, extended New Year greetings on behalf of the embassy and thanked the minister for welcoming them. “I think this is a great way for us to get started by taking the next step through MCC compact, and we look forward to working with you all in this new compact.”
Meanwhile, MCC head of delegation and Managing Director for Africa, Madam Carrie Monahan, extended thanks to the government and people of Liberia for the warm welcome she and her team have received.
Now that you have been approved by the MCC board to develop a compact, and we at MCC are extremely thrilled to see Liberia continue with its project, because everyone was excited to get to where we are today, she said.
According to her, meetings of this kind are things the MCC board looked at, saying we first meet with government stakeholders to discuss the compact development process, which is a very ambitious project.
She disclosed that MCC impact are vigorous analysis that can lead to having a lot of data to understand the constraints and growth within a particular sector. Madam Monahan further stated that they also carried stakeholders’ consultation across the country, not just working with the government, but also with the private sector, civil society, and the Liberian people to understand what project will unlock economic growth and investment.
“So during this trip we are going to be talking about some of the key milestones, and the next one is a recall analysis workshop that will take place in February to find a particular concern within a sector and to find out what the causes”
It can be recalled that MCC’s decision, officially communicated to Minister Ngafuan late Wednesday, positions Liberia to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in potential grant funding aimed at energy and road infrastructure, the key issues repeatedly identified in MCC growth diagnostics.
The approval was widely seen as an important vote of confidence in Liberia’s governance trajectory, particularly after the MCC toughened its eligibility rules, increasing its scorecard indicators from 20 to 22 and doubling its “hard hurdles” to include both corruption control and respect for freedom. – Edited by Othello B. Garblah.
