‘Local authorities should spearhead SDGs’

Innocent Ruwende in Bulawayo
LOCAL authorities should be highly responsive and help drive the country’s success in achieving sustainable developmental goals on tackling poverty, inequality and environmental degradation, a Cabinet minister has said.

Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Saviour Kasukuwere said this while officially opening the Local Government Economic Development Forum in Bulawayo last week.

Minister Kasukuwere said there was an essential, yet often under-appreciated role of local government in generating inclusive and sustainable development.

“As a layer of Government, which, by definition, is closest to the people, local government is best placed to be highly responsive to advocate for people’s needs.

“The global challenges to be addressed are too complex for any one sector to solve on its own. This arrangement resonates well with Zim-Asset revamped implementation and co-ordination architecture which calls for involvement of all social partners and communities themselves.

“Social partners’ participation and involvement should be from the onset, for purposes of effective targeting, prioritisation, ownership and financing of such efforts,” he said.

He said the country should endeavour to mobilise resources so as to attain the set targets and urged Africa to mobilise its own resources saying engagement with the outside world should be based on mutual benefit.

Minister Kasukuwere said the domestication of the UN sustainable development goals in Zimbabwe has been made easier by Zim-Asset whose cluster system embraces the development agenda.

Presenting the investment opportunities which exist for local authorities in the tourism sector, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) chief executive Mr Karikoga Kaseke said the country needs more hotels to avoid being under-hotelled by 2012.

“We really need a convention centre in Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls so that we increase our business competitiveness.

“This year we have lost 70 conferences because we do not have the facilities. We had more than 3 000 delegates who wanted to come to Victoria Falls but we do not have the facilities. Zimbabwe will become under-hotelled by 2020,” he said.