The UN Global Compact Network of South Africa has released the 2024 Voluntary National Review on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Kathy Gibson reports
SA lags on SDGs, but private sector makes progress
The private sector is making progress on attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), but there are still some significant challenges to overcome.
Overall, South Africa has achieved just 17% of its goals, so there is still a tremendously long way to go towards the 2030 deadline.
“We need to go forward faster,” says Dr Achieng Ojwang, executive director of the Global Compact Network South Africa (GCNSA).
The 2024 Voluntary National Review on the SDGs recommends some drivers that would help get the country back on track: finance and investment (SDG 12); living wage (SDG 8); gender equality (SDG 5); climate action (SDG 13); and water resilience (SDG 6).
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Government commits to SDG alignment
Government is taking the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seriously, aligning the National Development Plan (NDP) and the Medium-Term Development Plan to the SDGs.
The soon-to-be-released Medium-Term Development Plan will outline policies and specific actions to be taken over the next five years in order to achieve NDP goals, says Maropene Ramokgopa, Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation.
“It is sad to realise that we haven’t even been able to move 20% of the way to achieving the SDGs,” she says, referencing the fact that South Africa is just 17% of the way. “So we need to do something to move forward.”
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Digitalisation a double-edged sword
South Africa needs to keep up with global digitalisation, but the increased use of technology brings some serious challenges that need to be addressed.
This is one of the conclusions from the 2024 Voluntary National Review on the Sustainable Development Goals.
The private sector recognises that strategic alignment with the South African National Development plan is vital, with it providing a mechanism for harnessing synergies and surfacing the initiatives, policies, and action that we need to drive together.
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