[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 222 (Monday, November 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55119-55121]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25198]


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MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION

[MCC FR 18-03]


Notice of Entering Into a Compact With the Republic of C[ocirc]te 
d'Ivoire

AGENCY: Millennium Challenge Corporation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 610(b)(2) of the Millennium 
Challenge Act of 2003, as amended, and the heading ``Millennium 
Challenge Corporation'' of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, 
and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2017, the Millennium Challenge 
Corporation (MCC) is publishing a summary of the Millennium Challenge 
Compact between the United States of America, acting through MCC, and 
the Republic of C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire. Representatives of MCC and 
C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire signed the compact on November 7, 2017. The 
complete text of the compact has been posted at: https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/compact-cote-divoire.

    Dated: November 15, 2017.
Jeanne M. Hauch,
Vice President and General Counsel, Millennium Challenge Corporation.

Summary of the C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire Compact

Overview of MCC C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire Compact

    MCC has signed a five-year, $524,740,000 compact with the 
Government of C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire that is aimed at reducing poverty and 
accelerating economic growth. The compact seeks to address two binding 
constraints to economic growth in C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire: (i) Low levels 
of basic, technical, and vocational skills; and (ii) barriers to moving 
goods and people, especially in Abidjan. The compact will address these 
constraints through two projects designed to support the 
diversification of the Ivoirian economy in its drive for emergence: (i) 
the Skills for Employability and Productivity Project (``Skills 
Project''); and (ii) the Abidjan Transport Project.

Background and Context

    After passing only five MCC policy indicators in fiscal year 2012, 
C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire began a systematic effort to improve its policy 
performance in order to qualify for MCC funding. As a result of those 
efforts, C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire has consistently passed the MCC scorecard 
since FY 2015, and in FY 2017 the country passed 14 indicators. In FY 
2015, MCC's Board of Directors selected C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire for a 
threshold program and in FY 2016, based on continued policy 
improvement, for development of a compact proposal. The compact is seen 
in C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire as the fruit of a long journey of sustained 
engagement with MCC and is poised to become a central pillar of the 
country's relationship with the United States.
    C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire is located in the coastal zone of West Africa 
and has a population of 22.7 million people, 41.5 percent of whom are 
under the age of 14, and a gross national income per capita of $1,420. 
With five major ethnic groups, a sizeable immigrant population making 
up a quarter of the population, and more than 60 local languages

[[Page 55120]]

spoken throughout the country, social cohesion has historically been 
fragile with deep divisions along national, ethnic, religious, and 
geographical lines. While Yamoussoukro is the official capital, Abidjan 
is the informal seat of government and home to approximately 19 percent 
of the population, making it the country's critical driver for economic 
growth.
    From independence in 1960 until 1979, C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire enjoyed 
strong economic growth and was seen by many as the economic, political, 
and cultural center of West Africa. However, the country's economy was 
largely dependent on a few main exports, notably cocoa. When the world 
market price for cocoa fell sharply in the 1980s, C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire's 
economy collapsed. The country struggled with political instability 
throughout the 1990s and 2000s, including a civil war from 2002 to 
2004, and a second civil war from March to April 2011. Since 2012, 
political stability has allowed the economy to recover from years of 
stagnation, with gross domestic product growth rates averaging nine 
percent per year over the past five years. Despite this recovery, there 
is a palpable sense among C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire's population that the 
fruits of recent growth have not been widely shared. Moreover, despite 
some recent diversification, the country remains overly dependent on 
the same narrow set of exports.

Compact Overview and Budget

    The compact is based on the premise that for C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire to 
achieve sustainable and inclusive growth--and escape the boom and bust 
cycle of the past--it must diversify its economy. MCC and C[ocirc]te 
d'Ivoire identified two constraints to economic growth that will be 
addressed in the compact: (i) Low levels of basic, technical, and 
vocational skills; and (ii) barriers to moving goods and people, 
especially in Abidjan. The compact will address these constraints 
through the Skills and Abidjan Transport Projects. C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire 
is committed to implementing these projects in a sustainable manner in 
order to
     Resolve critical youth education and unemployment issues;
     increase the competitiveness of Abidjan as the country's 
economic growth hub by improving the mobility of goods and people; and
     diversify its economy while promoting public-private 
partnerships.
    The compact is expected to allow C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire to resume its 
economic preeminence in West Africa and become a desired location for 
employment-intensive industries such as manufacturing and business 
process outsourcing, as well as help mitigate lingering socio-political 
issues.
    The budget for the compact is detailed below:

          Table 1--C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire's Compact Budget Summary
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Component                          Total  (US $)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Skills Project.......................................     154,950,000
1.1 Secondary Education Activity........................     111,300,000
1.2 Technical and Vocational Education and Training           35,000,000
 Activity...............................................
1.3 Project Management..................................       8,650,000
2. Abidjan Transport Project............................     292,340,000
2.1 Transport Infrastructure Activity...................     238,720,000
2.2 Transport Management and Planning Activity..........      53,620,000
3. Monitoring and Evaluation............................      12,700,000
3.1 Monitoring and Evaluation Activities................      12,700,000
4. Program Administration and Oversight.................      64,750,000
4.1 Program Administration and Oversight................      64,750,000
                                                         ---------------
  Total Program Budget..................................     524,740,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Project Summaries

Skills Project ($154,950,000)
    The Skills Project aims to (i) to increase the number of years of 
education received and improve the acquisition of quality, in-demand 
basic skills, including reading, math, and soft skills, for lower 
secondary students; and (ii) to improve the acquisition of quality, in-
demand technical skills and increase job-placement rates among 
graduates of compact-supported technical and vocational education and 
training (TVET) centers. The Skills Project is designed to equip those 
in Abidjan, as well as in two additional economic hubs, with skills to 
meet the demands of the private sector in an expanding and diversifying 
economy. Investments in the regions of Gb[ecirc]k[ecirc], in the 
center-north of C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire, and San Pedro, in the west of the 
country, will allow MCC funding to capitalize on opportunities to 
address the country's profound gender, socioeconomic, and geographic 
inequalities and to improve access to basic education, technical 
vocational training, and economic opportunities more broadly. The 
Skills Project is composed of the following two activities:
     Secondary Education Activity: This activity aims to 
increase access to lower secondary education in two regions of 
C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire and improve the access to, and quality of, 
secondary education and the governance of the sector. MCC funding will 
support the building of, and support to, approximately 74-84 new lower 
secondary schools in the rural and peri-urban areas of the 
Gb[ecirc]k[ecirc] and San Pedro regions. This funding will be supported 
by policy and institutional reforms at the national level in gender, 
monitoring and evaluation systems, and teacher training to improve 
capacity and overall governance, equity, and system performance.
     Technical and Vocational Education and Training Activity: 
This activity aims to develop a new TVET model of partnership that 
provides training to students in the skills and knowledge in demand by 
the private sector. This TVET model will be implemented through 
sustainable training centers developed and managed through a public-
private partnership with industries in C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire. The 
activity will be implemented with a goal of catalyzing a shift within 
the training system towards better identifying and meeting the training 
needs of the private sector. MCC funding will support the building of 
up to four new private sector-driven TVET centers, development of a 
quality management and accountability systems for improved sector 
governance, and introduction of key quality management and 
accountability tools to strengthen the Ministry of Environment's 
capacity to manage for results. MCC funding will also support the 
necessary revisions to legislation and regulations to accommodate the 
TVET model. The TVET centers will be required to develop a gender and 
social inclusion policy and action plan that describes key social and 
gender considerations, strategic approaches, and expected outcomes.
Abidjan Transport Project ($292,340,000)
    The Abidjan Transport Project aims to reduce vehicle operating 
costs and travel times along targeted road segments, while improving 
overall pedestrian and vehicle mobility and safety. MCC funding will 
support infrastructure works designed to improve traffic fluidity and 
decongest central corridors of the city linking the Port of Abidjan to 
points north, west, and east, as well as integrate new pavement design 
technologies that aim to reduce total lifecycle user costs. This 
project consists of two activities:
     Transport Infrastructure Activity: The Transport 
Infrastructure Activity aims to rehabilitate up to 32 kilometers of 
critical roadway and adjoining infrastructure in the central corridor 
of

[[Page 55121]]

Abidjan to (i) improve overall travel times, traffic movement, and road 
safety; (ii) integrate multi-modal transport planning; and (iii) reduce 
household transport costs and increase revenue for businesses.
     Transport Management and Planning Activity: This activity 
aims to build the technical and managerial capacity of C[ocirc]te 
d'Ivoire's road-transport-related agencies in the areas of 
infrastructure asset-management techniques, and long-term road planning 
and maintenance. MCC funding will include the following: (i) The 
creation, development and institutionalization of a graduate education 
program in infrastructure asset management; (ii) the development of a 
road asset inventory and database, as well as a road safety database 
for Abidjan; (iii) traffic management and coordination assistance; and 
(iv) the development and expansion of a program that provides routine 
cleaning, upkeep and maintenance of the road and bridge network in 
Abidjan.

Economic Analysis

    The estimated economic rate of return (ERR) for the Skills Project 
is 10.6 percent over 20 years. The project seeks to improve student 
learning outcomes and increase the number of years that students attend 
school. Both of these benefits are expected to increase future lifetime 
earnings for the participating students. The Technical and Vocational 
Education and Training Activity is expected to result in students 
acquiring specific, market-demanded skills through additional years of 
schooling, which results in higher employment rates and higher lifetime 
earnings.
    The estimated ERR for the Abidjan Transport Project is 22.6 percent 
over 20 years. While vehicle operating costs and time savings are 
expected to be the immediate microeconomic benefits of the project, the 
project is also expected to contribute to the economy of C[ocirc]te 
d'Ivoire's largest city by improving access to jobs, goods, and social 
services.
    Overall, the compact is expected to benefit at least 11,300,000 
people over 20 years. Approximately 300,000 Skills Project 
beneficiaries are expected to be Abidjan residents and therefore also 
beneficiaries of the Abidjan Transport Project; accordingly, they have 
been deducted from the total number of compact beneficiaries to avoid 
double counting.

Policy Reform and the Compact

    MCC and C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire have agreed on several policy reform 
areas to support the sustainability of the compact program. In the 
Skills Project, C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire will allocate sufficient annual 
public expenditures for lower secondary education and TVET to support 
and maintain MCC's investments by providing adequate teachers and 
budgets for secondary schools and operational subsidies for TVET 
centers. C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire will also develop, institutionalize, and 
operationalize a national gender policy for the education sector in 
order to help rectify gender disparities in the Ivoirian education 
system. Finally, MCC plans to contribute to the modernization of the 
country's outdated and ineffective teacher training program and, 
through the TVET investment, help the government transition from being 
an ineffective service provider to being a regulator and financer of 
training provided in TVET centers that are operated by and for the 
private sector.
    In the Abidjan Transport Project, MCC's assistance will be 
accompanied by reforms designed to improve the governance and financial 
sustainability of C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire's road maintenance fund. In 
particular, C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire will increase the amount of revenue 
allocated to the road fund over the life of the compact, reduce the 
debt burden currently held by the road fund, and increase road user 
participation in the governance structure of the road fund in order to 
create a more market-oriented entity. C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire has also 
agreed on mechanisms to eliminate illegal truck parking in the zone 
around the Port of Abidjan, which is expected to contribute 
significantly to the reduction of traffic congestion in this important 
area of the city.

[FR Doc. 2017-25198 Filed 11-17-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9211-03-P