US embassy cable - 05LILONGWE202

UNCLAS LILONGWE 000202 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS USAID 
USAID FOR PAT FLEURET, AYANNA TOURE, STEVE FELDSTEIN, 
BILL HAGELMAN 
AF/S FOR DAN MOZENA, ADRIENNE GALANEK 
AF/PD FOR L.W. KOENGETER, CHANTAL DALTON 
MCC FOR CLAY LOWERY, KEVIN SABA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, KMCA, KPAO, PGOV, ECON, MI 
SUBJECT: DVC on MCA Threshold Program Gets Rave Reviews 
 
1.  Post wishes to thank all those in Washington who 
organized and participated in the March 1 digital video 
conference hosted by USAID Washington on the Millennium 
Challenge Account Threshold Program.  The DVC received 
high-level participation here, and key MCC officials in 
Washington were able to brief GOM officials on the 
Threshold Program and discuss the current draft of 
Malawi's Concept Paper in productive detail.  The DVC 
did exactly what was needed at this juncture: clarify 
for senior GOM officials what the Threshold Program is, 
what the process will be going forward, and what being 
an MCA compact country might mean for Malawi in the 
future.  While the officials actively drafting the 
Concept Paper did not participate, they report that the 
DVC both enlightened and energized their superiors, who 
will ultimately be responsible for implementing any 
proposal developed from the Concept Paper. 
 
2.  Mission officers report a very positive response 
from the participants here, including Minister of 
Finance Goodall Gondwe, Minister of Foreign Affairs 
Davis Katsonga and Minister of Economic Planning and 
Development David Faiti.  All were appreciative of the 
responsiveness of Washington interlocutors in 
presenting the MCA concept and answering their 
questions, including Clay Lowery, Kevin Saba and Steve 
Brent.  The DVC appears to have generated significant 
additional momentum for the Malawi's Threshold process 
from senior officials who may have been only vaguely 
aware of it previously.  The timing of the DVC to 
precede A/S Newman's visit will also make her meetings 
on the topic more productive.  The Concept Paper has 
already undergone revision along the lines discussed in 
the DVC and will soon go to Cabinet for approval. 
 
3.  The following GOM officials participated in the 
DVC: 
Goodall Gondwe, Minister of Finance 
Davis Katsonga, Minister of Foreign Affairs 
David Faiti, Minister of Economic Planning and 
Development (MEPD) 
Honorable Rodwell Munyenyembe, Speaker of Parliament 
Victor Mbewe, Reserve Bank Governor 
Bright Msaka, Secretary to the Office of the President 
and the Cabinet 
Ishmael Wadi, Director of the Department of Public 
Prosecutions 
Patrick Kamwendo, Principal Secretary, MEPD 
Lot Dzonzi, Police Commissioner 
 
Embassy/USAID Officials: 
David Gilmour, CDA a.i. 
Eric Loken, Acting USAID Mission Director (outgoing) 
Eilene Oldwine, Acting USAID Mission Director 
(incoming) 
Bill Hagelman, USAID Africa Bureau (TDY Malawi) 
Martha Myers, Program Development Officer 
Mitchell Moss, Public Affairs Officer 
Bill Taliferro, Economics Officer 
Kalinde Chindebvu, USAID Monitoring and Evaluation 
Specialist 
 
3.  It should be noted that this was USAID Malawi's 
maiden DVC, and was a first for most of our Malawian 
guests.  Putting this together on short notice before 
A/S Newman's visit and the March 15 Concept Paper 
deadline required significant coordinated effort, which 
paid off handsomely.  Special thanks go to our USAID 
Washington hosts, colleagues in the USAID AF Bureau, 
State AF/PD, our MCC participants and USAID colleagues 
here in Malawi whose efforts made this possible. 
 
Gilmour