$434-M anti-poverty aid won’t help poor — groups 09/26/2010

STRINGS ON MCC GRANT MEANT FOR U.S. INTEREST

$434-M anti-poverty aid won’t help poor — groups

09/26/2010
Cause-oriented groups yesterday assailed the “strings attached” to the $434-million so-called anti-poverty aid that President Aquino obtained in his official visit to the United States, saying these conditions do not guaranty an end to poverty among Filipinos but are designed to protect US business interests in the country.
The US grant was awarded under the US-run Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) and required the country to meet all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which had a deadline in 2015 and only then will the full amount be released.

The grant was earmarked for the building of roads and the undertaking of projects aimed at reducing poverty and fighting corruption.

According to research group Ibon, the conditions for the signing of the MCC agreement were biased against national interest and give way for more erroneous policies that have eroded the local economy.

“It required the Philippines to meet certain indicators such as open trade, economic freedom, good governance, adherence to human rights, to continue receiving the aid,” it said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100926hed1.html