The world’s wealthiest nations are not wrong in being concerned about corrupt African leaders, Kenyan Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Mathaai said in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Mathaai was the guest speaker at the annual Nelson Mandela Lecture, with an audience that included Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former United States president Bill Clinton.
”There are some leaders who are corrupt, who siphon money into their accounts,” she told an audience of several hundred at the Civic Theatre.
”It is difficult not to dismiss the concerns of G8 leaders.”
The G8 countries are therefore unlikely to cancel all the debt of African countries.
”But it is important to realise that those who are guilty do not suffer. It is the poor who suffer. Ordinary citizens will continue to suffer when debt is not cancelled or when trade barriers are not raised.”
She said Africans need to hold poor leaders accountable and punish them at election time.
”People should encourage the strengthening of their civil societies so that leaders could be held accountable. Particularly in elections to put the right people in Parliaments.”
She said there is no reason why Africa should be poor.
”Africa has people, oil, precious stones, agricultural products … so what is wrong? What is the problem? The problems is that many Africans lack the skills and tools to add value to their raw materials. People need education, especially a technical education to get the skills and experience necessary.”
She said this is why debt relief and the lifting of trade barriers was so important to Africa.
”For this we need to invest in education which is why we need an improvement in trade relations and the lifting of debt. We need to be empowered.”
Mathaai said it was important to encourage countries that were working for peace and stability.
”We are not where we were 10 or 20 years ago. We are moving. We are strengthening our civil society,” she said.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu said some developed countries sold Africa short.
”Their records are not that great. After all who produced the holocaust? Who produced Nazism.”
”We need them to know that if you are a bad ruler in Africa you will not last long. It is important for us to realise that there are good people in Africa.”
He said women should have a ”revolution”.
”Women ought to say to men — we have given you a heck of a long time and look at the mess you have made.
”No woman will carry a child in her womb for nine months and then turn that child into cannon fodder. How about a revolution?” he said to laughter and clapping from the audience.
Clinton responded to Tutu’s comments saying: ”All I can tell you is that my family is doing its part to achieve that goal.”
There have been reports in the US media that Clinton’s wife, Hillary, will run for the presidency in 2009.
He said the G8 meeting was the beginning of discussions for Africa.
”The questions are what are they going to do with the money and who is going to decide what to do with the money.”
Clinton said it should be used for education and for equal opportunities for women.
He said elections did not guarantee a country a good leader.
”They just guarantee that you get rid of a bad one.” – Sapa