MCC CEO Paul Applegarth to Step Down

The New York Times reports this morning that Paul Applegarth, the Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation will step down at a date yet determined. The MCC will provide more details soon.The New York Times wrote:

Two days after a group of African leaders complained that the Bush administration's signature program to aid poor nations had proved slow, the head of the program told his staff on Wednesday that he would resign.

Paul V. Applegarth, the chief executive of the Millennium Challenge Corporation for the last 13 months, will step down at a date yet to be determined, an official there said. The corporation administers the Millennium Challenge Account, established by President Bush to provide financial assistance to poor nations that show progress in establishing what the United States considers stable democratic governments and pursuing sound economic and social welfare policies.

The program has given final approval for aid to only two countries, Madagascar and Honduras, and has disbursed almost no money. Program officials have said that more approvals are in the pipeline, that the money will soon begin flowing and that, in any case, the program is as much about encouraging good government as about dispensing financial assistance.