…as Minister notes uneven achievement of SDG’s
BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
MBABANE – Eswatini has some ways to go to achieve some of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 (SDG’s).
This was noted by Minister of Economic Planning and Development Dr Thambo Gina when speaking at the official opening of a High-level Roundtable Meeting on the SDG Rescue Plan with stakeholders in Mbabane today. The SDG Rescue Plan warns that “many of the SDGs are moderately to severely off track” and offers five recommendations to “rescue” the Goals by the 2030 deadline.
“Assessments on the implementation of the Agenda have demonstrated an uneven trend when it comes to progress made. While some positive progress was recorded for some of the SDGs like Goal 6 and 7 on water and energy respectively, some goals like Goal 1 on poverty and Goal 8 on economic growth still need more attention,” said the Minister at the Roundtable.
“However, it is important to note that the gains still fall too short to meet the targets by 2030. For some goals, progress has been stagnant or has regressed due to recurring shocks,” he added.
Minister Gina also noted that the journey of the SDGs has not been easy, as emergence of climate and economic related shocks such as the 2016 drought, the Cyclone Eloise in 2021, the COVID-19 Pandemic, and now the commodity price escalations.
He added that Eswatini is committed to using the Rescue Plan to even out the implementation of the SDG’S in the country.
