United States congressman Barney Frank congratulated the directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for its historic decision to make Cape Verde the first country eligible for a second Millennium Challenge Account compact Wednesday in Washington, D.C. The MCC’s chief executive officer responded with praise for Cape Verde.

“This is an unprecedented fact and all of those involved should be proud,” said the representative from Massachusetts, which has been home to a large Cape Verdean community since the 19th century, adding a “special thanks” to MCC CEO Daniel Yohannes “for acknowledging the arduous work Cape Verde has done.”

For his part, Yohannes invited Frank to visit Cape Verde with him next year, and added that the country “has been a strong partner of the MCC. The country has consistently practiced political and economic good governance and has worked arduously on the successful implementation of the current compact.”

As such, said Yohannes, “I would like to thank Congressman Frank for his support for MCC’s anti-poverty programs and his continuous engagement with Cape Verde.” Daniel Yohannes also explained that “the first MCA compact attributed to Cape Verde, in 2005, took US$ 110 million to the country to increase agricultural productivity, improve highway infrastructures and modernize the Praia sea port.”

And now, concluded the MCC’s director, the fact that it has been selected to develop a second compact “is testimony that the country not only worked well to fulfill the spirit and intention of the first compact, but also continues to be one of the few countries in Africa that maintained a strong commitment to democracy and uses development aid wisely.”