Justine Greening must be a champion for aid effectiveness and transparency

Justine Greening has taken up her new role as Secretary of State for International Development. This is a particularly important time when the UK is taking a leadership role within the post-2015 High Level Panel, the Open Government Partnership and the G8. Development Initiatives encourages Justine Greening to maintain DfID’s focus upon making aid more effective, accountable and transparent, ensuring that the UK delivers on its historic pledge to reach the target of spending 0.7% of gross national income on overseas aid by 2013.

Andrew Mitchell’s successor will need to keep up the staunch defence of the UK aid budget, which has such a transformative effect upon the lives of millions, despite difficult economic conditions. But aid itself will not be the answer to ending poverty and at the heart of the agenda must be a commitment to ending aid dependency.

If the experiences of Ms Greening’s predecessors, such as Chris Patten and Clare Short, are to be believed, she now has “one of the best jobs in government”.