Cablegate: Ethiopia: Mfa Discouraged Over Another Poor Mcc

VZCZCXRO6046
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHDS #2688 3161402
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 121402Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6811
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP PRIORITY

UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 002688

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EEB/IFD/ODF:KENSTROM, AF/E:JWIEGERT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PGOV PREL ET
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: MFA DISCOURAGED OVER ANOTHER POOR MCC
SCORECARD

REF: STATE 108510

(SBU) Per reftel request, EconOff delivered Ethiopia's 2010
MCC Scorecard to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) U.S. Desk
Officer Adam Tesfaye on November 4. Tesfaye, who was quite
familiar with the MCC, recalled receiving delivery of
"scorecards filled with bad news for the past three to four
years," and lamented that Ethiopia "is not making any
progress" toward an MCA Compact. Tesfaye said the MFA and
Ministry of Finance and Economic Development had commissioned
studies to determine how they might improve their indicators,
had reached the conclusion that they would not likely qualify
for a compact in the near future, and were therefore not
motivated to take action to improve specific indicators.
Noting that it is unfortunate that the MCC Scorecard does not
measure the progress Ethiopia has made, Tesfaye commented
that "the U.S. knows what is going on in Ethiopia better than
any other country in the world, so looking at these details
is discouraging."
MEECE

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