The US Ambassador to Cape Verde, Marianne M. Myles, has a piece in the Providence Journal reporting on the many positives coming out of the country. She attributes this to country’s willingness to “put policies and programs in place that deliver for its people and their prosperity” and practicing “good governance with a stable democratic system.”
She also mentions Secretary Clinton’s visit to the country in August, and writes at length about the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s work in Cape Verde.
Excerpts below, full piece here
Such progress also builds a strong foundation for Cape Verde’s work to lift its citizens out of poverty. The poverty rate at 27 percent remains a pressing problem. That is why Cape Verdeans are leveraging U.S. development assistance with transparency and accountability to win the fight against poverty. The government is maximizing the benefits of such assistance by matching it with its own resources and integrating it with resources from other donors or the private sector. Because of this approach, American taxpayers can rest assured that their resources are being invested in smart and effective ways in Cape Verde.
I am a witness to this as I see American Peace Corps volunteers manage education and community-development projects, including programs to teach life skills, protect against HIV/AIDS, and advise entrepreneurs about how to attain business profitability. I see progress also through the U.S. government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an innovative approach to aid that partners with countries willing to practice sound policies and build the capacity to implement solutions for growth determined by their own citizens.
Secretary Clinton is scheduled to cap off her 11 day trip to Africa with a visit to Cape Verde. For those of you who don’t know, Cape Verde is a series of islands approximately 300 miles off the western coast of Africa. The country was uninhabited until the mid-1400’s, when the Portuguese discovered and colonized the islands and brought African slaves to work on plantations. The country gained independence from the Portuguese in 1975.
Cape Verde is an African success story. Leaders in the democratically governed country have invested in their citizens and taken steps to enhance trade, helping them earn a compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)—a U.S. government agency created to reduce poverty through sustainable economic growth—in July of 2005. The agreement provides Cape Verde with $110 million for the development of their private sector and various industries in an effort to become self-sufficient. Projects will include work on watershed management and agricultural development, infrastructure development, private sector incubation, and government transparency and accountability.
Cape Verde’s climate is hot and dry, and the terrain is rocky, making farming difficult. Only four of Cape Verde’s ten islands can support agricultural production, and the country imports most of its food. Cape Verde has developed some industry, particularly around fishing, but commerce, tourism and remittances still account for significant portions of the country’s GDP. The projects undertaken with assistance from the MCC will help Cape Verde expand its business prospects, develop industry, and increase economic productivity and opportunity.
-Beth Adler
The State Department has announced that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will “travel to Africa next week on a seven-nation tour aimed at highlighting the Obama administration’s commitment to the continent.” Clinton plans to visit 7 countries including Kenya, South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde.
You can read more details of the trip here. We’ll bring further news as it develops.
-Chris Scott
