2006年VOA标准英语-African Businessman Creates Good Governance Awa

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
30 October 2006

A retired¹ African businessman has launched a multi-million dollar prize to be awarded to African leaders who demonstrate excellence² in political leadership.  
 

		Mo Ibrahim

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation is to administer the prize, which consists of $5 million distributed over 10 years, followed by a $200,000 payment per year for the life of the recipient³.

The Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership is meant to reward former African heads of state who showed excellence in governance during their terms in office.

At the Nairobi launch of the prize, businessman Ibrahim said it is time for Africans and their governments to get serious and take responsibility for themselves.

"We cannot keep blaming our state on the colonial powers, the burden of the white man, what happened here: this does not wash anymore," he said. "The state of Africa today: the poverty; the disease; the lack of clean water; the lack of electricity; the lack of education; the lack of jobs for our kids; all really rests with us. We have suffered a major failure in leadership in Africa over the past 40 years."

Ibrahim said he hopes the prize will encourage African leaders to be more responsible and work towards the best interests of their people.

Candidates are to be assessed by a good governance index developed at Harvard University that measures national progress in five key areas.

These are: economic development; human development, particularly in the areas of health and education; transparency and empowerment of civil society; democracy and human rights; and rule of law and security.

The first prize is to be handed out in 2007.

Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese by birth, is founder⁴ of Celtel International, a mobile telephone company with operations across Africa.

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

3 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

4 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。