Botswana builds capacity to attain SDGs

Isaac Pinielo | Friday December 15, 2017 15:38

Majelantle expressed her confidence during a training workshop this week aimed at enhancing capacity amongst African member states to produce accurate and timely statistical information for monitoring and reporting on Agenda 2030.

She said the workshop is part of efforts to enhance capacity amongst African member states to produce accurate and timely statistical information for monitoring and reporting on SDGs.

Majelantle said the workshop was meant to increase knowledge and awareness on 11th SDG, whose intention is to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.

“The focus is on data collection, analysis and reporting on human settlements SDG indicators,” she said.

Majelantle said the Agenda 2030 encompassing the SDGs is a very ambitious and noble effort that the world community has committed to achieving, noting that it has an all-inclusive theme of “Leave no one behind”.

“Our own continental development framework, the African Agenda 2063 commits us to achieving a prosperous Africa that is based on inclusive growth and sustainable development”.

Majelantle also said monitoring the progress made towards achieving the SDGs through measurement of related indicators is an important part of progressing agenda 2030.

For National Statistics Offices (NSOs), she said there are challenges that must be addressed as the SDG indicator framework includes many indicators that have not normally been measured by such organisations.

According to the statistician general, human settlement indicators are some of the indicators that some NSOs have not traditionally measured.

She said the workshop is therefore timely and relevant as discussions would enrich their capacity to provide information on human settlement SDG indicators, as well as facilitate informed decision-making.

She said participants are entrusted with great responsibility, and that they are to have an opportunity to chart the future on this matter.

“It is important to note that, the first world data forum on sustainable development data held in Cape Town in January 2017, clearly reiterated the need for strong statistical systems in the measurement of development indicators and underscored the importance of quality of data produced by NSOs as custodians of official statistics in diverse areas including data on human settlements,” said Majelantle.

She indicated that goals as outlined within the development frameworks can only be achieved through a people-centred information infrastructure that allows governments to have sufficient understanding of who people are, where they are and what their needs are, alluding to geospatial information management for better urban planning and viable settlement data.

“As we look to the future through, I urge all of us to be aware of existing bottlenecks with regard to provision and reporting on human settlement SDG indicators, as well as focus on sustainable strategies that will move us forward,” she said.

Furthermore, Majelantle urged governments to take lead in the development of human settlements.