Report on the Selection of Eligible Countries for Fiscal Year 2007, 66983-66985 [E6-19488]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 222 / Friday, November 17, 2006 / Notices
Respondent’s testimony regarding his
various violations is especially
disturbing. With respect to his conduct
in distributing controlled substances to
the Nagras’ clinic, Respondent testified
that he didn’t ‘‘have any regrets’’ and
that he ‘‘would do that again because I
wasn’t hurting anyone.’’ Tr. at 390. As
for his conduct at the 82nd Avenue
clinic, Respondent explained that ‘‘you
don’t close down operations. You don’t
stop businesses and put 12 people on
the unemployment line because of a
registration that is being withheld at
that time unreasonably.’’ 13 Id. at 379.
Respondent’s statements reflect a
stunning disregard for the requirements
of Federal law. The CSA’s implementing
regulations expressly provide that ‘‘[n]o
person required to be registered shall
engage in any activity for which
registration is required until the
application for registration is granted
and a Certificate of Registration is
issued * * * to such person.’’ 21 CFR
1301.13(a). Contrary to Respondent’s
understanding, he was required to
comply with the Act and its regulations
even if it interfered with his business
plan or violated his sense of fairness.
In sum, Respondent’s repeated
violations of the CSA provide ample
grounds to deny his application.
Moreover, Respondent’s attitude leaves
me with the firm impression that, if
given the opportunity, he will violate
the Act again. Moreover, Respondent’s
rehabilitation from drug abuse does not
mitigate the violations of the Act he
committed by distributing controlled
substances to the Nagras’ clinic, an
unregistered location, and commencing
operations at the 82nd Avenue clinic
without obtaining a registration. I thus
conclude that this factor is dispositive
and compels a finding that granting
Respondent a new registration would be
inconsistent with the public interest.14
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13 As
I have previously found, the evidence in the
record establishes that Respondent did not apply
for a registration for this location until December
2001, shortly before opening the clinic.
Furthermore, Respondent indicated on his
application that his state license had previously
been suspended thus triggering a more detailed
investigation. DEA personnel subsequently
determined that Respondent had previously been
investigated for distributing controlled substances
to the Nagras’ clinic, that he was storing controlled
substances at the 82nd Ave. clinic, and became
aware of the events surrounding Respondent’s
abuse of Telazol and the State of California’s
suspension of his license. As this proceeding has
established, it was not unreasonable to withhold
Respondent’s registration. What was unreasonable
was Respondent’s commencement of operations
without obtaining a registration in violation of
Federal law.
14 In light of Respondent’s numerous violations of
the CSA discussed above, it is unnecessary to
decide whether Respondent’s practice of employing
relief veterinarians to run his clinic in Oregon while
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Order
Accordingly, pursuant to the
authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C.
823(f), and 28 CFR 0.100(b) and 0.104,
I hereby order that the pending
application of Respondent, Daniel
Koller, D.V.M., for a DEA Certificate of
Registration as a practitioner, be, and it
hereby is, denied. This order is effective
December 18, 2006.
Dated: November 3, 2006.
Michele M. Leonhart,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. E6–19400 Filed 11–16–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410–09–P
LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION
Sunshine Act Meeting Notice
The Board of Directors
of the Legal Services Corporation will
meet on November 22, 2006 via
conference call. The meeting will begin
at 2 p.m. (EST), and continue until
conclusion of the Board’s agenda.
LOCATION: 3333 K Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20007, 3rd Floor
Conference Center.
STATUS OF MEETING: Open. Directors will
participate by telephone conference in
TIME AND DATE:
living in San Diego (more than 1,000 miles away)
complied with the CSA. I note, however, that at the
hearing, the Government asserted that if a relief
veterinarian is an independent contractor, the relief
vet. cannot act as an agent of the clinic owner/
registrant under 21 CFR 1301.22. According to the
Government, the relief vet. must be an employee of
the clinic owner in order to comply with the
regulation.
This position is incorrect. Neither the CSA nor
the regulation precludes a relief veterinarian who
is an independent contractor from acting as the
agent of the registrant. In the CSA, Congress defined
the term ‘‘agent’’ to mean ‘‘an authorized person
who acts on behalf of or at the direction of a
manufacturer, distributor, or dispenser.’’ 21 U.S.C.
802(3). Moreover, the CSA further exempts from
registration ‘‘[a]n agent or employee of any
registered manufacturer, distributor, or dispenser of
any controlled substance * * * if such agent or
employee is acting in the usual course of his
business or employment.’’ Id. § 822(c). The plain
language of the statute thus demonstrates that
Congress did not limit the exemption to the
employees of a practitioner. Furthermore, in
appropriate circumstances, an independent
contractor may act as an agent. See, e.g., I
Restatement of the Law (Second) Agency § 14 N, at
80 (1958) (‘‘One who contracts to act on behalf of
another and subject to the other’s control except
with respect to his physical conduct is an agent and
also an independent contractor.’’). The status of the
person acting under the registration as an employee
or independent contractor is thus not determinative
of compliance with the CSA.
What is relevant for purposes of compliance is
that the registrant must exercise effective control of
the agent. Doing so requires that a registrant
properly supervise and monitor its agents to protect
against the diversion of controlled substances;
reliance solely on the CSA’s existing recordkeeping
requirements does not necessarily establish that a
registrant is exercising effective control of its
agents.
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66983
such a manner as to enable interested
members of the public to hear and
identify all persons participating in the
meeting. Members of the public wishing
to observe the meeting may do so by
joining participating staff at the location
indicated above. Members of the public
wishing to listen to the meeting by
telephone may obtain call-in
information by calling LSC’s FOIA
Information line at (202) 295–1629.
MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED:
1. Approval of the agenda.
2. Consider and act on Board of
Directors’ response to the Inspector
General’s Semiannual Report to
Congress for the period of April 1, 2006
through September 30, 2006.
3. Consider and act on other business.
4. Public comment.
CONTACT PERSON FOR INFORMATION:
Patricia Batie, Manager of Board
Operations, at (202) 295–1500.
SPECIAL NEEDS: Upon request, meeting
notices will be made available in
alternate formats to accommodate visual
and hearing impairments. Individuals
who have a disability and need an
accommodation to attend the meeting
may notify Patricia Batie at (202) 295–
1500.
Dated: November 15, 2006.
Victor M. Fortuno,
Vice President for Legal Affairs, General
Counsel & Corporate Secretary.
[FR Doc. 06–9283 Filed 11–15–06; 3:31 pm]
BILLING CODE 7050–01–P
MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE
CORPORATION
[MCC FR 06–19]
Report on the Selection of Eligible
Countries for Fiscal Year 2007
Millennium Challenge
Corporation.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This report is provided in
accordance with Section 608(d)(2) of the
Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, Pub.
L. 108–199, Division D, (the ‘‘Act’’),
Report on the Selection of Eligible
Countries for Fiscal Year 2007.
Summary
This report is provided in accordance
with Section 608(d)(2) of the
Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, Pub.
L. 108–199, Division D, (the ‘‘Act’’).
The Act authorizes the provision of
Millennium Challenge Account (MCA)
assistance under Section 605 of the Act
to countries that enter into Compacts
with the United States to support
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 222 / Friday, November 17, 2006 / Notices
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
policies and programs that advance the
progress of such countries in achieving
lasting economic growth and poverty
reduction and are in furtherance of the
Act. The Act requires the Millennium
Challenge Corporation (MCC) to take a
number of steps to determine the
countries that, based to the maximum
extent possible upon objective and
quantifiable indicators of a country’s
demonstrated commitment to just and
democratic governance, economic
freedom and investing in their people,
will be eligible to receive MCA
assistance for a fiscal year. These steps
include the submission of reports to
appropriate Congressional committees
and the publication of notices in the
Federal Register that identify, among
other things:
1. The ‘‘candidate countries’’ for MCA
assistance for a fiscal year and all
countries that would be candidate
countries if they met the requirement of
Section 606(a)(1)(B) (Section 608(a) of
the Act);
2. the eligibility criteria and
methodology that the MCC Board of
Directors (the ‘‘Board’’) will use to select
‘‘eligible countries’’ from among the
‘‘candidate countries’’ (Section 608(b) of
the Act); and
3. the countries determined by the
Board to be ‘‘eligible countries’’ for a
fiscal year, the countries on the list of
eligible countries with which the Board
will seek to enter into a Compact and a
justification for the decisions regarding
eligibility and selection for negotiation
(Section 608(d)(1) of the Act).
This is the third of the abovedescribed reports by MCC for fiscal year
2007 (FY07). It identifies countries
determined by the Board to be eligible
under Section 607 of the Act for FY07
and those that the Board will seek to
enter into Compacts under Section 609
of the Act, and the justification for such
decisions.
Eligible Countries
The Board met on November 8, 2006,
to select countries that will be eligible
for MCA Compact assistance under
Section 607 of the Act for FY07. The
Board determined the following
countries eligible for such assistance for
FY07 and with which MCC may seek to
enter into a Compact: Armenia; Benin;
Bolivia; Burkina Faso; Cape Verde; East
Timor; El Salvador; Georgia; Ghana;
Honduras; Jordan; Lesotho; Madagascar;
Mali; Moldova; Mongolia; Mozambique;
Namibia; Nicaragua; Senegal; Sri Lanka;
Tanzania; Ukraine; and Vanuatu.
In accordance with the Act and with
the ‘‘Report on the Criteria and
Methodology for Determining the
Eligibility of Candidate Countries for
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16:31 Nov 16, 2006
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Millennium Challenge Account
Assistance in Fiscal Year 2007’’
submitted to the Congress on,
September 8, 2006, selection was based
primarily on a country’s overall
performance in relation to three broad
policy categories: (1) ‘‘Ruling Justly’’; (2)
‘‘Encouraging Economic Freedom’’; and
(3) ‘‘Investing in People.’’ The Board
relied upon 16 publicly available and
independent indicators to assess policy
performance and demonstrated
commitment in these three areas, to the
maximum extent possible, for
determining which countries would be
eligible for MCA Compact assistance. In
determining eligibility, the Board
considered if a country performed above
the median in relation to its peers on at
least half of the indicators in each of the
three policy categories and above the
median on ‘‘Control of Corruption’’ and,
if the country performed substantially
below the median on any indictor,
whether it is taking appropriate action
to address the shortcomings. Scorecards
reflecting each country’s performance
on the indicators are available on MCC’s
Web site at https://www.mcc.gov.
The Board also considered whether
any adjustments should be made for
data gaps, lags, trends, or recent events
since the indicators were published and
strengths or weaknesses in particular
indicators. Where appropriate, the
Board took into account additional
quantitative and qualitative information
such as evidence of a country’s
commitment to fighting corruption and
promoting democratic governance, its
economic policies to promote the
sustainable management of natural
resources, human rights, and the rights
of people with disabilities. In addition,
the Board considered the opportunity to
reduce poverty, promote economic
growth and have a transformational
impact in a country in light of the
overall context of the information
available to it as well as the availability
of appropriated funds.
Eighteen of the countries selected
eligible for MCA assistance for FY07
were in the ‘‘low income’’ category and
were previously selected as eligible in at
least one previous fiscal year—Armenia,
Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, East
Timor, Ghana, Georgia, Honduras,
Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia,
Mozambique, Nicaragua, Senegal, Sri
Lanka, Tanzania, and Vanuatu. Three of
the countries selected as eligible for
MCA assistance for FY07 were in the
‘‘lower middle income’’ category and
were previously selected as eligible in at
least one previous fiscal year—Cape
Verde, El Salvador, and Namibia. On
November 8, 2006, the Board re-selected
these countries based on their continued
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performance since their prior selection.
The Board also determined that no
material change has occurred in the
performance of these countries on the
selection criteria since the FY06
selection that would justify not
including them in the FY07 eligible
country list. Six of these countries—
Benin, Cape Verde, Ghana, Madagascar,
Senegal, and Sri Lanka—either did not
perform above the median on Control of
Corruption or did not perform above the
median in relation to their peers on at
least half of the indicators in each of the
three policy categories. However, at this
time, MCC does not believe that a
serious erosion of policy performance
has occurred in any of these countries.
MCC will ask each of these countries to
commit to specific actions by their
respective governments to address
indicator performance weaknesses and
to strive to maintain or improve upon
their performance overall.
Three additional countries were
selected for the first time in FY07: (1)
Two in the ‘‘low income’’ category
under Section 606(a) of the Act—
Moldova and Ukraine; and (2) one in the
‘‘lower middle income’’ category under
Section 606(b) of the Act—Jordan. Each
of these countries: (1) Performed above
the median in relation to their peers on
at least half of the indicators in each of
the three policy categories; (2)
performed above the median on
corruption; and (3) in cases where they
performed substantially below the
median on an indicator, there was either
evidence that the data did not
adequately reflect their policy
performance or that the government is
taking corrective action to address the
problem.
All three of these countries are
currently participating in the Threshold
Program. Each country now meets the
MCA eligibility criteria for Compact
assistance but successful
implementation of their respective
Threshold Program—and of the
corresponding reform commitments—
remains critical. The governments will
be required to demonstrate successful
implementation of the Threshold
Program during the Compact
development process in order to reach
a Compact and then to continue to
receive MCA funding under a Compact.
• Moldova: Moldova presents an
excellent opportunity for MCC to use its
Compact funding in a transformational
way. Moldova is the poorest country in
Europe with half of its population living
on less than $2 per day. It now passes
15 of the 16 indicators, as well as both
of the two new Natural Resource
Management indices. The Government
of Moldova has adopted a series of
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 222 / Friday, November 17, 2006 / Notices
significant policy and institutional
reforms over the last several years. After
being selected as a Threshold Program
Country in FY06, the Government of
Moldova proposed an ambitious anticorruption Threshold Program and
improved its performance on the
‘‘Control of Corruption’’ indicator from
the 46th percentile to the 55th
percentile.
• Ukraine: For the first time, Ukraine
also passes the MCA selection eligibility
criteria and has made significant
improvements on all of the indictors in
the ‘‘Ruling Justly’’ category. In
addition, Ukraine passes one of the new
supplementary Natural Resources
Management indices. Ukraine was
selected as a Threshold country in
FY06, and in June 2006, the Board
approved its Threshold program which
is focused on accelerating anticorruption efforts. MCC expects that
implementation of Ukraine’s Threshold
Program will begin soon and will bolster
the Government of Ukraine’s reform
efforts.
• Jordan: Jordan passes the MCA
selection eligibility criteria, including
‘‘Control of Corruption,’’ and has
demonstrated its commitment to MCC
principles through home-grown
democratic reform initiatives, which
MCC is currently supporting through
the implementation of the Threshold
Program agreement signed in October,
2006. Jordan has made significant
reform commitments in its Threshold
Program and MCC will require
successful implementation of the
Threshold Program as the Government
of Jordan works to develop and
implement a Compact. A Compact in
Jordan could have a transformation
impact as structural reforms over the
last decade have liberalized the private
investment regime, opened the trade
environment, and established modern
regulation and institutions for private
sector development.
Finally, a number of countries that
performed well on the quantitative
elements of the selection criteria (i.e., on
the policy indicators) were not chosen
as eligible countries for FY07. As
discussed above, the Board considered a
variety of factors in addition to the
country’s performance on the policy
indicators in determining whether they
were appropriate candidates for
assistance (e.g., the country’s
commitment to fighting corruption and
promoting democratic governance; the
availability of appropriated funds; and
in which countries MCC would likely
have the best opportunity to reduce
poverty, generate economic growth and
have a transformational impact).
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Selection for Compact Negotiation
The Board also authorized MCC to
seek to negotiate a Compact, as
described in Section 609 of the Act,
with each of the eligible countries
identified above that develops a
proposal that justifies beginning such
negotiations. MCC will initiate the
process by inviting newly eligible
countries to submit program proposals
to MCC (previously eligible countries
will not be asked to submit another
proposal for FY07 assistance). MCC has
posted guidance on the MCC Web site
(https://www.mcc.gov) regarding the
development and submission of MCA
program proposals. Submission of a
proposal is not a guarantee that MCC
will finalize a Compact with an eligible
country. Any MCA assistance provided
under Section 605 of the Act will be
contingent on the successful negotiation
of a mutually agreeable Compact
between the eligible country and MCC,
approval of the Compact by the Board,
and availability of funds.
Dated: November 14, 2006.
William G. Anderson, Jr.,
Vice President and General Counsel (Acting),
Millennium Challenge Corporation.
[FR Doc. E6–19488 Filed 11–16–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9210–01–P
NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE
ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES
National Endowment for the Arts; Arts
Advisory Panel
Pursuant to Section 10(a)(2) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (Public
Law 92–463), as amended, notice is
hereby given that six meetings of the
Arts Advisory Panel to the National
Council on the Arts will be held at the
Nancy Hanks Center, 1100 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, 20506
as follows (ending times are
approximate):
Dance (application review): December
4–6, 2006 in Room 730. This meeting,
from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on December 4th
and 5th, and from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
on December 6th, will be closed.
Folk & Traditional Arts (application
review): December 6–8, 2006 in Room
716. This meeting, from 9 a.m. to 6:30
p.m. on December 6th, from 9 a.m. to 6
p.m. on December 7th, and from 9 a.m.
to 5:30 p.m. on December 8th, will be
closed.
Music (application review): December
6–8, 2006 in Room 714. A portion of
this meeting, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on
December 8th, will be open to the
public for a policy discussion. The
remainder of the meeting, from 9 a.m. to
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66985
5:30 p.m. on December 6th, from 9 a.m.
to 6 p.m. on December 7th, and from 9
a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 3:30
p.m. on December 8th, will be closed.
Museums (application review):
December 12–15, 2006 in Room 716.
This meeting, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
on December 12th—14th and from 9
a.m. to 1 p.m. on December 15th, will
be closed.
Literature (application review):
December 13–15, 2006 in Room 714. A
portion of this meeting, from 2 p.m. to
3 p.m. on December 15th, will be open
to the public for a policy discussion.
The remainder of the meeting, from 9
a.m. to 6 p.m. on December 13th and
14th and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from
3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on December 15th,
will be closed.
Summer Schools in the Arts
(application review): December 14–15,
2006 in Room 730. A portion of this
meeting, from 3:15 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. on
December 15th, will be open to the
public for a policy discussion. The
remainder of the meeting, from 9 a.m. to
6 p.m. on December 14th and from 9
a.m. to 3:15 p.m. and from 3:45 p.m. to
4:15 p.m. on December 15th, will be
closed.
The closed portions of meetings are
for the purpose of Panel review,
discussion, evaluation, and
recommendations on financial
assistance under the National
Foundation on the Arts and the
Humanities Act of 1965, as amended,
including information given in
confidence to the agency. In accordance
with the determination of the Chairman
of April 8, 2005, these sessions will be
closed to the public pursuant to
subsection (c)(6) of section 552b of Title
5, United States Code.
Any person may observe meetings, or
portions thereof, of advisory panels that
are open to the public, and if time
allows, may be permitted to participate
in the panel’s discussions at the
discretion of the panel chairman. If you
need special accommodations due to a
disability, please contact the Office of
AccessAbility, National Endowment for
the Arts, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW, Washington, DC 20506, 202/682–
5532, TDY–TDD 202/682–5496, at least
seven (7) days prior to the meeting.
Further information with reference to
these meetings can be obtained from Ms.
Kathy Plowitz-Worden, Office of
Guidelines & Panel Operations, National
Endowment for the Arts, Washington,
DC, 20506, or call 202/682–5691.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 222 (Friday, November 17, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66983-66985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19488]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION
[MCC FR 06-19]
Report on the Selection of Eligible Countries for Fiscal Year
2007
AGENCY: Millennium Challenge Corporation.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This report is provided in accordance with Section 608(d)(2)
of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, Pub. L. 108-199, Division D,
(the ``Act''), Report on the Selection of Eligible Countries for Fiscal
Year 2007.
Summary
This report is provided in accordance with Section 608(d)(2) of the
Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, Pub. L. 108-199, Division D, (the
``Act'').
The Act authorizes the provision of Millennium Challenge Account
(MCA) assistance under Section 605 of the Act to countries that enter
into Compacts with the United States to support
[[Page 66984]]
policies and programs that advance the progress of such countries in
achieving lasting economic growth and poverty reduction and are in
furtherance of the Act. The Act requires the Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC) to take a number of steps to determine the countries
that, based to the maximum extent possible upon objective and
quantifiable indicators of a country's demonstrated commitment to just
and democratic governance, economic freedom and investing in their
people, will be eligible to receive MCA assistance for a fiscal year.
These steps include the submission of reports to appropriate
Congressional committees and the publication of notices in the Federal
Register that identify, among other things:
1. The ``candidate countries'' for MCA assistance for a fiscal year
and all countries that would be candidate countries if they met the
requirement of Section 606(a)(1)(B) (Section 608(a) of the Act);
2. the eligibility criteria and methodology that the MCC Board of
Directors (the ``Board'') will use to select ``eligible countries''
from among the ``candidate countries'' (Section 608(b) of the Act); and
3. the countries determined by the Board to be ``eligible
countries'' for a fiscal year, the countries on the list of eligible
countries with which the Board will seek to enter into a Compact and a
justification for the decisions regarding eligibility and selection for
negotiation (Section 608(d)(1) of the Act).
This is the third of the above-described reports by MCC for fiscal
year 2007 (FY07). It identifies countries determined by the Board to be
eligible under Section 607 of the Act for FY07 and those that the Board
will seek to enter into Compacts under Section 609 of the Act, and the
justification for such decisions.
Eligible Countries
The Board met on November 8, 2006, to select countries that will be
eligible for MCA Compact assistance under Section 607 of the Act for
FY07. The Board determined the following countries eligible for such
assistance for FY07 and with which MCC may seek to enter into a
Compact: Armenia; Benin; Bolivia; Burkina Faso; Cape Verde; East Timor;
El Salvador; Georgia; Ghana; Honduras; Jordan; Lesotho; Madagascar;
Mali; Moldova; Mongolia; Mozambique; Namibia; Nicaragua; Senegal; Sri
Lanka; Tanzania; Ukraine; and Vanuatu.
In accordance with the Act and with the ``Report on the Criteria
and Methodology for Determining the Eligibility of Candidate Countries
for Millennium Challenge Account Assistance in Fiscal Year 2007''
submitted to the Congress on, September 8, 2006, selection was based
primarily on a country's overall performance in relation to three broad
policy categories: (1) ``Ruling Justly''; (2) ``Encouraging Economic
Freedom''; and (3) ``Investing in People.'' The Board relied upon 16
publicly available and independent indicators to assess policy
performance and demonstrated commitment in these three areas, to the
maximum extent possible, for determining which countries would be
eligible for MCA Compact assistance. In determining eligibility, the
Board considered if a country performed above the median in relation to
its peers on at least half of the indicators in each of the three
policy categories and above the median on ``Control of Corruption''
and, if the country performed substantially below the median on any
indictor, whether it is taking appropriate action to address the
shortcomings. Scorecards reflecting each country's performance on the
indicators are available on MCC's Web site at https://www.mcc.gov.
The Board also considered whether any adjustments should be made
for data gaps, lags, trends, or recent events since the indicators were
published and strengths or weaknesses in particular indicators. Where
appropriate, the Board took into account additional quantitative and
qualitative information such as evidence of a country's commitment to
fighting corruption and promoting democratic governance, its economic
policies to promote the sustainable management of natural resources,
human rights, and the rights of people with disabilities. In addition,
the Board considered the opportunity to reduce poverty, promote
economic growth and have a transformational impact in a country in
light of the overall context of the information available to it as well
as the availability of appropriated funds.
Eighteen of the countries selected eligible for MCA assistance for
FY07 were in the ``low income'' category and were previously selected
as eligible in at least one previous fiscal year--Armenia, Benin,
Bolivia, Burkina Faso, East Timor, Ghana, Georgia, Honduras, Lesotho,
Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Senegal, Sri Lanka,
Tanzania, and Vanuatu. Three of the countries selected as eligible for
MCA assistance for FY07 were in the ``lower middle income'' category
and were previously selected as eligible in at least one previous
fiscal year--Cape Verde, El Salvador, and Namibia. On November 8, 2006,
the Board re-selected these countries based on their continued
performance since their prior selection. The Board also determined that
no material change has occurred in the performance of these countries
on the selection criteria since the FY06 selection that would justify
not including them in the FY07 eligible country list. Six of these
countries--Benin, Cape Verde, Ghana, Madagascar, Senegal, and Sri
Lanka--either did not perform above the median on Control of Corruption
or did not perform above the median in relation to their peers on at
least half of the indicators in each of the three policy categories.
However, at this time, MCC does not believe that a serious erosion of
policy performance has occurred in any of these countries. MCC will ask
each of these countries to commit to specific actions by their
respective governments to address indicator performance weaknesses and
to strive to maintain or improve upon their performance overall.
Three additional countries were selected for the first time in
FY07: (1) Two in the ``low income'' category under Section 606(a) of
the Act--Moldova and Ukraine; and (2) one in the ``lower middle
income'' category under Section 606(b) of the Act--Jordan. Each of
these countries: (1) Performed above the median in relation to their
peers on at least half of the indicators in each of the three policy
categories; (2) performed above the median on corruption; and (3) in
cases where they performed substantially below the median on an
indicator, there was either evidence that the data did not adequately
reflect their policy performance or that the government is taking
corrective action to address the problem.
All three of these countries are currently participating in the
Threshold Program. Each country now meets the MCA eligibility criteria
for Compact assistance but successful implementation of their
respective Threshold Program--and of the corresponding reform
commitments--remains critical. The governments will be required to
demonstrate successful implementation of the Threshold Program during
the Compact development process in order to reach a Compact and then to
continue to receive MCA funding under a Compact.
Moldova: Moldova presents an excellent opportunity for MCC
to use its Compact funding in a transformational way. Moldova is the
poorest country in Europe with half of its population living on less
than $2 per day. It now passes 15 of the 16 indicators, as well as both
of the two new Natural Resource Management indices. The Government of
Moldova has adopted a series of
[[Page 66985]]
significant policy and institutional reforms over the last several
years. After being selected as a Threshold Program Country in FY06, the
Government of Moldova proposed an ambitious anti-corruption Threshold
Program and improved its performance on the ``Control of Corruption''
indicator from the 46th percentile to the 55th percentile.
Ukraine: For the first time, Ukraine also passes the MCA
selection eligibility criteria and has made significant improvements on
all of the indictors in the ``Ruling Justly'' category. In addition,
Ukraine passes one of the new supplementary Natural Resources
Management indices. Ukraine was selected as a Threshold country in
FY06, and in June 2006, the Board approved its Threshold program which
is focused on accelerating anti-corruption efforts. MCC expects that
implementation of Ukraine's Threshold Program will begin soon and will
bolster the Government of Ukraine's reform efforts.
Jordan: Jordan passes the MCA selection eligibility
criteria, including ``Control of Corruption,'' and has demonstrated its
commitment to MCC principles through home-grown democratic reform
initiatives, which MCC is currently supporting through the
implementation of the Threshold Program agreement signed in October,
2006. Jordan has made significant reform commitments in its Threshold
Program and MCC will require successful implementation of the Threshold
Program as the Government of Jordan works to develop and implement a
Compact. A Compact in Jordan could have a transformation impact as
structural reforms over the last decade have liberalized the private
investment regime, opened the trade environment, and established modern
regulation and institutions for private sector development.
Finally, a number of countries that performed well on the
quantitative elements of the selection criteria (i.e., on the policy
indicators) were not chosen as eligible countries for FY07. As
discussed above, the Board considered a variety of factors in addition
to the country's performance on the policy indicators in determining
whether they were appropriate candidates for assistance (e.g., the
country's commitment to fighting corruption and promoting democratic
governance; the availability of appropriated funds; and in which
countries MCC would likely have the best opportunity to reduce poverty,
generate economic growth and have a transformational impact).
Selection for Compact Negotiation
The Board also authorized MCC to seek to negotiate a Compact, as
described in Section 609 of the Act, with each of the eligible
countries identified above that develops a proposal that justifies
beginning such negotiations. MCC will initiate the process by inviting
newly eligible countries to submit program proposals to MCC (previously
eligible countries will not be asked to submit another proposal for
FY07 assistance). MCC has posted guidance on the MCC Web site (https://
www.mcc.gov) regarding the development and submission of MCA program
proposals. Submission of a proposal is not a guarantee that MCC will
finalize a Compact with an eligible country. Any MCA assistance
provided under Section 605 of the Act will be contingent on the
successful negotiation of a mutually agreeable Compact between the
eligible country and MCC, approval of the Compact by the Board, and
availability of funds.
Dated: November 14, 2006.
William G. Anderson, Jr.,
Vice President and General Counsel (Acting), Millennium Challenge
Corporation.
[FR Doc. E6-19488 Filed 11-16-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9210-01-P
