Govt misses SDG timelines

THE government yesterday said it would allocate at least 5% of national revenues to provincial and local authorities to catch up on its promises to deliver on United Nations development goals.

This was said by the deputy chief secretary to the President and Cabinet Paul Damasane during the Zimbabwe United Nations Sustainable Development Co-operation Framework (ZUNSDCF) result groups’ joint annual review meeting.

He said government has embarked on a deliberate initiative to devolve governmental responsibilities to provincial and local authorities.

“In order to capacitate provincial and local authorities to be able to effectively contribute to their own development, at least 5% of national revenue raised in any financial year is allocated to them,” Damasane said.

“Further, the government takes seriously its responsibility to equip the people and authorities at the grassroots level, with the skills and resources to enable them to become economic participants, and not just beneficiaries.”

Speaking during the same meeting, United Nations resident and humanitarian co-ordinator Edward

Kallon urged the government to take the annual review process seriously to deliver on its promises.

He was, however, quick to acknowledge a number of disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic that he said slowed development across the globe.

“This situation serves as a stark warning, necessitating immediate and intensified actions to steer the goals back on course,” he said.

Kallon also said Zimbabwe was lagging in meeting some Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Today, only 15% of the targets are on track, and many are going in reverse — Zimbabwe is not excluded from this trend. To accelerate achievement towards SDGs, six targeted areas where urgent transitions are required have been identified,” he said.

“In response, it is imperative that we embrace new and adaptive strategies to effectively address these challenges and ensure the realisation of National Development Strategy 1 objectives as we progress towards Vision 2030 and attainment of the SDGs.

“Through robust monitoring and reporting mechanisms, we can measure our impact, learn from our experiences, and ultimately drive meaningful change for the people of Zimbabwe.”