After being selected in 2004 and 2006, in 2007 Cape Verde will benefit once again from Millennium Challenge Account funds, according to National Defense and State Reform Minister Cristina Fontes, “which will mean more resources for the development of Cape Verde.” This time, however, as Fontes made a point of stressing, Cape Verde has been selected as a Developing Country, as it was in 2006, a victory she said belonged to the “Cape Verdean people.”

In 2004, Cape Verde benefited from the funds as a Low-Income Country. The US$ 110 million from 2004 are being invested in infrastructures, namely ports, agriculture and other areas sensitive to development, “creating employment and new perspectives for development on all the islands,” according to the Minister. In 2005, Cape Verde was not selected to receive funds from the Millennium Challenge Account due, ironically, to its positive economic and political performance, which meant that the country no longer qualified as a low-income country.

Cape Verde was then promoted to the list of countries eligible within the framework of developing countries for 2006 and 2007. Cape Verde’s “victory” in having been chosen to benefit from MCA funds is even more remarkable this time, according to Fontes, considering the competition, with 34 countries on the list of candidates, including Morocco, Brazil, Bulgaria, Tunisia, El Salvador and Namibia. This, said Fontes, is reason for pride, because it “obviously” means that the country has managed to show positive performance in certain indicators, “namely good governance, investment in people, and economic freedom.” What’s more, said Fontes, “the efforts the government has been developing in the realm of good governance are being acknowledged.”

Fontes explained that the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s selection was based on “studies by institutions such as the World Bank and the United Nations, which gave us the possibility to be chosen.” This data, said the Minister, shows that “Cape Verde is being governed well and is scoring points in terms of investment in people, education and health, but also in economic freedom.”

According to information from the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Cape Verde was selected based on performance indicators and information provided by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Freedom House, the Heritage Foundation, UNESCO and the WHO. To this was added the country’s recent positive classification on the Corruption Control Index.

Cristina Fontes affirmed that Cape Verde’s selection increases the responsibilities of both the government and Cape Verdean society as a whole in maintaining or improving these indicators, which will contribute toward attracting more and larger investments in the country. The Minister did not reveal the amount of funds to be attributed to Cape Verde by the MCA in 2007, nor the areas in which they will be invested.

Cristina Fontes also announced the good news of the approval of an aid package from France worth 46 million euros. “This is the first time France has attributed such a large amount of financing to Cape Verde,” affirmed the Minister.