Professor Wangari Maathai on the radio
Share
Professor Wangari Maathai spoke on the Today Programme this morning on BBC Radio 4. She founded the Green Belt Movement and is the only African woman to have won the Nobel Peace Prize. Maathai argues that good governance is absolutely essential for development: “I’ve come to the conviction, unless we fix governance, the rest will not be fixed.”
For this to happen, it needs African leaders to show commitment. She goes on to say that the African Union has an important role to play in all this. She specifically mentions President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, who is keen to make the African Union more democratic.
-Jessica Gomez-Duran
 |
 |
 |
Featured Series
About the Blog
The ONE Blog is a daily log of the anti-poverty movement. The site is operated by ONE staff, with frequent contributions from volunteers, members and partner organizations.
The ONE Blog updates readers daily with the latest in global development news and analysis and what ONE members and our partners are doing around the world to influence world leaders in the fight against global poverty.
The content of each post and each comment represents the views of that author and does not necessarily reflect the views of ONE or ONE Action. ONE does not support or oppose any candidate for elected office, and any post expressing support or opposition for a candidate is not endorsed by ONE.
October 1, 2009 at 10:28 pm
I heard Professor Maathai speak a few months ago and was moved by her words. She spoke of the role of government as a body working to protect and care for their people, she particularly focused on the role of the government as the custodian of a country’s natural resources. The people have the right, and the obligation to be heard by their government and to hold them accountable for their actions.
Professor Maathai has worked ceaselessly to make governement more responsive to, and focused on the people and land they must protect. Professor Maathai said that she, and the people of the Greenbelt Movement work on an issue until they find they are making no progress, but rather than give up, they leave that method that did not work yesterday and try another way to improve the lives of their people.
I remember particularly that she said that no matter how small, she wanted to be caught on the road doing the right thing. All of us should share that goal.