Millennium Challenge Corp.
Amb. Ernest H. Preeg
On April 27, 2006 at a meeting of the Center for Global Development with officials of the Millennium Challenge Corp., Ambassador Preeg advocated consideration for Haiti as a threshold country approaching eligibility for grants on grounds of recent improvement.
The Millennium Challenge sets criteria for grants to poor countries including political freedom, progress against corruption, and economic openness. Haiti scored well in three of the economic categories (click here to see the list) but missed on the political and corruption scores because of deterioration under the previous regime. Ambassador Preeg considered that the success of recent elections could lead Haiti to score higher politically, and based on a willingness to tackle corruption, Haiti should be considered for threshold status.
Amb. Ernest H. Preeg is chairman of the board of the Haiti Democracy Project and former U.S. ambassador to Haiti. He is author of The Haitian Dilemma: A Case Study of Demographics, Development and U.S. Foreign Policy.