MCC EXPECTS IMPROVEMENT
Support A1+!John Hewko, Vice President of Operations for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), is in Armenia to meet with high-level government officials and review progress of the $235 million MCC Armenia Compact.
During his meetings here, Hewko stressed how important it is to MCC, and the American Government, that Armenia continue to maintain a high level of performance on the 16 objective indicators MCC uses to determine Compact eligibility. These indicators measure whether a country is ruling justly, investing in its people and promoting economic freedom. Because the coming legislative and presidential elections will directly affect three MCC indicators in the Ruling Justly category – Political Rights, Civil Liberties and Voice and Accountability – Hewko stressed that it is critical the Government of Armenia maintain its commitment to holding elections that demonstrate significant improvement over past elections.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a U.S. government corporation designed to work with some of the poorest countries in the world, is based on the principle that aid is most effective when it reinforces good governance, economic freedom, and investments in people that promote economic growth and elimination of extreme poverty. The MCA-Armenia Compact, signed on March 27, 2006 with Entry into Force on September 29, 2006, aims to reduce rural poverty through a sustainable increase in the economic performance of the agricultural sector. Armenia plans to achieve this goal through a five-year program of strategic investments in rural roads, irrigation infrastructure and technical and financial assistance to improve the supply of water and to support farmers and agribusinesses. The program will directly impact approximately 750,000 people, or an estimated 75 percent of the rural population, and is expected to reduce the rural poverty rate and boost annual incomes.
As MCC Vice President of Operations, John Hewko is responsible for a broad range of MCC interactions with eligible countries, including proposal development, proposal due diligence, compact negotiation, and compact implementation. The Operations Department works closely with MCC's Department of Accountability and Office of the General Counsel on due diligence activities, compact negotiations and program oversight. Prior to joining MCC, Mr. Hewko was an international partner with the law firm Baker & McKenzie (B&M), specializing in international corporate transactions in emerging markets spending many years in the firm’s Kyiv and Prague offices.
