© 2012 Economic Commission for Africa
ECA official urges Africa to adopt single development framework
ECA Press Release 1612012
Mombassa, Kenya, 2 October 2012 (ECA) – A senior official of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), has urged governments and development planners in Africa to establish a single development framework on the continent to avoid duplication and waste of resources.
Ms Isatou Gaye, the Chief of the Environment and Sustainable Development Section at UNECA who was addressing a session of the sub-regional consultations on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, in Mombassa Kenya said that this could easily be done by integrating the Social Development Goals (SDGs) into the post 2015-development agenda.
She prodded participants to look closely at the Rio+20 outcomes, particularly the SDGs process whose establishment is imminent for possible integration into the post 2015 development agenda now under review across Africa.
She argued that, “Africa cannot afford parallel development agendas given the many capacity challenges it is faces, including institutional”, according to ECA’s Information and Communication Service.
“Besides, a perusal of the principles, core dimensions, goals and other key elements of the Rio+20 outcomes and those identified by the UN System task force on the post-2015 development agenda reveals a high degree of convergence”, Ms Gaye pointed out.
Ms Gaye questioned if two set of development goals for Africa would be efficient, effective and practical. Instead, she proposed that at country level, the Ministry in charge of Planning could do a good job of coordinating all development initiatives.
She advised that sustainable development goals and the post 2015-development agenda should aim at avoiding duplication and seek to ensure complementarities.
She unpacked the Rio+20 outcomes explaining that “The Future we Want” which was the theme of the Rio+20 conference largely reflects Africa’s priorities and concerns as contained in its Common Position for Rio+20 agreed by African Heads of State.
She recalled that the Rio+20 had called on the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly (September 2012) to take decisions on a number of important issues, including the identification of the format and organizational aspects of the Universal, Intergovernmental High-Level Forum that is to replace the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), and the constitution of a working group to develop global SDGs.
Ms Gaye invited participants and all policy makers in Africa to join the online currently underway on www.uneca.org/cfssd/ to contribute while it is still time.
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