Kenya is not among eight African countries chosen last Thursday to apply for a new set of US development grants totalling one billion dollars. It was excluded mainly on the grounds that it had not adequately controlled official corruption. It was also given failing grades on some of the other 16 tests for eligibility for the new aid programme, known as the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). In Nairobi, the US embassy said that Kenya remained eligible "for consideration" during next year's selection process.