.....As Bush Seeks $1.3 Billion for New Aid Fund
WASHINGTON (USA) - Ghana is one of the 10 to 15 countries expected to qualify initially for the $1.3 billion US aid program set up to reward developing countries which meet criteria on eliminating corruption, respect for human rights and opening markets.
The Bush administration asked Congress on Monday for $1.3 billion in 2004 for the newly created Millennium Challenge Account.
But the amount was at least $300 million less than administration officials had pledged to the development community, aid agencies and congressional sources said.
The $1.3 billion would help bring total U.S. bilateral aid in 2004, excluding military aid to U.S. allies, to $12.52 billion, up from $10.01 billion in 2003, according to the budget request released by the State Department.
InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S. non-governmental organizations engaged in development work aboard, said it was "disappointed" at the reduction to $1.3 billion.
The Millennium Challenge Account, announced by President Bush last March, is expected to grow with time. Officials had said it would disburse $1.6 billion in 2004, $3.4 billion in 2005 and $5 billion a year after that.
It will be administered by a new government corporation, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, separate from the U.S. Agency for International Development, which handles the rest of the U.S. development aid budget.
"Because sound policies are an essential condition of development, the MCA will be devoted to projects in nations that govern justly, invest in their people and encourage economic freedom," the budget said.
During the fiscal year 2004, which starts in October 2003, only countries with a per capita income below $1,435 a year will be eligible for the funds, but the threshold will increase by 2006 to a per capita income of $2,975, it added.
CRITERIA FOR AID
"Selection of specific countries ... will be based on a set of criteria that will reward countries that root out corruption, respect human rights and adhere to the rule of law; invest in better health care, better schools and broader immunization; and have more open markets and sustainable budget policies," the budget presentation said.
Officials expect 10 to 15 countries to qualify initially, probably including Uganda, Senegal and Ghana.
InterAction spokesman Sid Balman said U.S. funding for other humanitarian programs was little changed and noted that many countries in need, such as Afghanistan , Somalia and Sudan, would not be eligible for the Millennium Challenge money.
"One of the main arguments the president has said is the 'terrorist breeding ground' argument -- but the MCA countries are not the countries where these terrorist breeding grounds exist," the InterAction spokesman added.
Israel, Egypt, Colombia, Afghanistan, Jordan and Pakistan will remain the biggest recipients of U.S. aid, mostly at levels little changed from 2003. Israel will receive at least $2.64 billion, followed by Egypt with $1.875 billion.
One innovation is a $145 million allocation to the State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative, an attempt to promote democracy and capitalism in the region.
"This initiative aims to diminish the underlying conditions that terrorists seek to exploit," the budget document said.
Secretary of State Colin Powell launched the initiative in December with a $20 million allocation.
The budget includes no money for the Iraqi opposition, for which the administration requested $25 million in 2003, or for the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization, which managed oil shipments to North Korea and has started to build two light-water nuclear power plants there.
The United States cut off the oil shipments last year after North Korea acknowledged a secret uranium enrichment project.
For Afghanistan, where the United States overthrew the Taliban rulers in 2001 in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, the administration has asked for at least $511 million, including $150 million in military financing.
The request for Washington's Andean Counterdrug Initiative, which helps governments in the Andean region fight the cocaine trade, is unchanged at $731 million, but the emphasis has shifted back to Colombia at the expense of neighboring Peru.
Colombia will receive $463 million, plus $110 million in military financing to fight leftist guerrillas, against $439 million and $98 million in 2003. The allocation to Peru has been reduced to $116 million from $135 million.
.....As Bush Seeks $1.3 Billion for New Aid Fund
WASHINGTON (USA) - Ghana is one of the 10 to 15 countries expected to qualify initially for the $1.3 billion US aid program set up to reward developing countries which meet criteria on eliminating corruption, respect for human rights and opening markets.
The Bush administration asked Congress on Monday for $1.3 billion in 2004 for the newly created Millennium Challenge Account.
But the amount was at least $300 million less than administration officials had pledged to the development community, aid agencies and congressional sources said.
The $1.3 billion would help bring total U.S. bilateral aid in 2004, excluding military aid to U.S. allies, to $12.52 billion, up from $10.01 billion in 2003, according to the budget request released by the State Department.
InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S. non-governmental organizations engaged in development work aboard, said it was "disappointed" at the reduction to $1.3 billion.
The Millennium Challenge Account, announced by President Bush last March, is expected to grow with time. Officials had said it would disburse $1.6 billion in 2004, $3.4 billion in 2005 and $5 billion a year after that.
It will be administered by a new government corporation, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, separate from the U.S. Agency for International Development, which handles the rest of the U.S. development aid budget.
"Because sound policies are an essential condition of development, the MCA will be devoted to projects in nations that govern justly, invest in their people and encourage economic freedom," the budget said.
During the fiscal year 2004, which starts in October 2003, only countries with a per capita income below $1,435 a year will be eligible for the funds, but the threshold will increase by 2006 to a per capita income of $2,975, it added.
CRITERIA FOR AID
"Selection of specific countries ... will be based on a set of criteria that will reward countries that root out corruption, respect human rights and adhere to the rule of law; invest in better health care, better schools and broader immunization; and have more open markets and sustainable budget policies," the budget presentation said.
Officials expect 10 to 15 countries to qualify initially, probably including Uganda, Senegal and Ghana.
InterAction spokesman Sid Balman said U.S. funding for other humanitarian programs was little changed and noted that many countries in need, such as Afghanistan , Somalia and Sudan, would not be eligible for the Millennium Challenge money.
"One of the main arguments the president has said is the 'terrorist breeding ground' argument -- but the MCA countries are not the countries where these terrorist breeding grounds exist," the InterAction spokesman added.
Israel, Egypt, Colombia, Afghanistan, Jordan and Pakistan will remain the biggest recipients of U.S. aid, mostly at levels little changed from 2003. Israel will receive at least $2.64 billion, followed by Egypt with $1.875 billion.
One innovation is a $145 million allocation to the State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative, an attempt to promote democracy and capitalism in the region.
"This initiative aims to diminish the underlying conditions that terrorists seek to exploit," the budget document said.
Secretary of State Colin Powell launched the initiative in December with a $20 million allocation.
The budget includes no money for the Iraqi opposition, for which the administration requested $25 million in 2003, or for the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization, which managed oil shipments to North Korea and has started to build two light-water nuclear power plants there.
The United States cut off the oil shipments last year after North Korea acknowledged a secret uranium enrichment project.
For Afghanistan, where the United States overthrew the Taliban rulers in 2001 in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, the administration has asked for at least $511 million, including $150 million in military financing.
The request for Washington's Andean Counterdrug Initiative, which helps governments in the Andean region fight the cocaine trade, is unchanged at $731 million, but the emphasis has shifted back to Colombia at the expense of neighboring Peru.
Colombia will receive $463 million, plus $110 million in military financing to fight leftist guerrillas, against $439 million and $98 million in 2003. The allocation to Peru has been reduced to $116 million from $135 million.
