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Moffat Mungazi
Post Reporter
THE implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires a multi-stakeholder and integrated approach based on coordinated activities in order to achieve transformative and accelerated progress in delivering on the SDGs promise, a senior Government official has said.
Speaking during an SDGs mid-year review workshop in Mutare today, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Mr Simon Masanga, said Government remains committed to ensuring the alignment and mainstreaming of policies, strategies, regulations and the national budget to SDGs programmes and projects.
Mr Masanga said the ongoing implementation of National Development Strategy (NDS1) and Vision 2030 at national level in pursuit of attaining an empowered and prosperous upper-middle income society as well as Agenda 2063 and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at regional and global levels respectively speaks to the aspirations of SDGs.
“It is key for us all as SDGs practitioners to track implementation progress, challenges, lessons learnt, share experiences and most importantly draw some key policy recommendations necessary to accelerate the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SDGs.
“As a nation, we are working tirelessly to implement, at the national level, the National Development Strategy 1 and Vision 2030 and at regional and global levels, Agenda 2063 and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, respectively. SDGs implementation, by nature, calls for multi-stakeholder approach. This is done by ensuring alignment and mainstreaming of SDGs into policies, strategies and regulations; implementation, monitoring, evaluation and review, advocacy and dissemination as well as alignment of the national budget to SDGs accelerating programmes and projects,” said Mr Masanga.
He said there is need for increased citizen engagement to accelerate the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SDGs.
Mr Masanga said Zimbabwe will attended the 2023 SDGs Summit next month, which will run under the theme: “Rebuilding Trust and Reigniting Solidarity: Accelerating Action on the 2030 Agenda and Its Sustainable Development Goals Towards Peace Prosperity, Progress and Sustainability.”
Speaking at the same event, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr Edward Kallon, said there is need to increase momentum for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs transformation through national and global commitments.
“A preliminary assessment of the 140 targets with data show that only about 12 percent of the SDGs goal target are on track; close to half, though showing progress, are moderately or severely off tack and some 30 percent have either seen no movement or regressed below the 2015 baseline.
“Despite those worrisome data points, achieving the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs remains within our grasp but it requires an unprecedented effort of individual governments, a renewed sense of common purpose across international community and global alliance for SDG across business, civil society, science, young people, local authorities and more,” he said.
Mr Kallon said UN, through the Zimbabwe UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, will continue supporting Government’s initiatives and priorities articulated in NDS1 and ensure that they are fully aligned to the SDGs.
The workshop was attended by representatives of Government ministries, departments and agencies as well as civil society organisations, development partners and UN country team.
SDGs are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future”.
Online Reporter