US government promises to continue aid from Mozambique Challenge Corporation – AIM report

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US government promises to continue aid from Mozambique Challenge Corporation – AIM report

7:46 CAT | 19 Sep 2025

File photo: AIM

The United States government has announced that the foreign aid promised to Mozambique under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) will be disbursed, despite fears that the Trump administration would destroy the MCC, just as it has dismantled the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

According to a Thursday release from the US Embassy in Maputo, “following the foreign aid review, the MCC Board of Directors met in August and recommended that the Compact for the Connectivity and Coastal Resilience of Mozambique should go ahead”.

This recommendation, added the release “reflects that continued trust in the cooperation between the United States and Mozambique, stressing the commitment to generate tangible results for the two peoples”.

Cited in the release, the US charge d’affaires, Abigail Dresser said “the decision to press ahead with the Compact shows the commitment of both countries to build a stronger and more prosperous future. In refining the focus of the programme, we are guaranteeing that American investment creates opportunities for Mozambicans, at the same time as it promotes the stability and economic growth that benefits both our nations.”

The Compact, continues the release, “is fully aligned with the priorities of US foreign policy, and seeks to produce concrete benefits for Mozambicans and Americans. These improvements stress the commitment of the US government to responsibility, transparency and measurable results, ensuring that the investment of American taxpayers promotes mutual prosperity”.

The Compact has been under discussion for several years. The Mozambique Connectivity and Coastal Resilience Compact, to give it its full name, was signed in Washington on 23 September 2023, and the total investment is valued at 537 million US dollars, targeted particularly at the central province of Zambezia.

A 2023 MCC document on the Compact noted that “two-thirds of the Mozambican population resides along the coast, which is impacted by frequent and increasingly intense cyclones, flooding, and natural disasters that overwhelm local transport networks, large and small-scale agriculture, community opportunity, and societal cohesion.”

The Compact, the MCC added, “aims to address these multifaceted risks through projects that will strengthen local economies that are reliant upon agriculture and fisheries yet limited by connectivity and reliable access”.

The Compact contains three projects – one on coastal livelihoods and climate resilience, one on connectivity and rural transport, and one on promoting reform and investment in agriculture.

The MCC describes itself as “an independent US government agency working to reduce global poverty through economic growth”.

Last year, it was believed that the “|Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) intended to shut down MCC. However, at that time billionaire Elon Musk was at the helm of Doge, and Musk subsequently fell out of favour with Trump, which may have saved the MCC and the Mozambican compact.

Source: AIM