By PSCU
The Parliamentary Caucus on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Business yesterday attended the 2023 SDG Multi-Stakeholders Conference taking place at the Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort & Spa, Mombasa.
The Annual Conference themed “SDGs at Midpoint: Accelerating SDGs Implementation through BETA and Enhanced Collaborations and Partnerships” brings together various stakeholders including the Parliamentary Caucus on SDGs and Business, Council of Governors and various State Departments in the Executive arm of Government.
Other participants are drawn from the Media Council of Kenya, the SDG Kenya Forum, UN Agencies, Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), various Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and County SDGs Champions.
The Member for Bondo, Gideon Ochanda, who is also the chairperson of the Parliamentary Caucus on SDGs in his remarks at the official opening of the Conference reminded participants that they have less than a decade within which the SDGs are to be achieved.
He encouraged participants to accelerate the implementation of SDGs in their various sectors and reiterated the clarion call on not leaving anyone behind when it comes to implementation of the SDGs.
Dr. Ochanda further underscored the importance of building partnerships as set out in SDG 17 and sharing best practices when implementing SDGs. This, he said, would accelerate the process by avoiding reinvention of the wheel.
He challenged the CSOs present to take up the role of isolating gaps in terms of neglected areas that are key towards achieving SDGs particularly when it comes to budgeting.
The lawmaker also urged them to make recommendations on areas that need to be included in the national budget during public participation and stakeholder engagements to help accelerate the achievement of SDGs.
Also present at the event were the Beatrice Elachi, MP for Dagoretti North and the Charles Onchoke, MP for Bonchari.
On her part, Elachi noted that in order to accelerate the implementation of SDGs, there was need to also involve children by working with schools.
Onchoke stated the need for a balance between the needs of the people and commercial aspects when implementing SDGs. This, he noted, would be achieved by reimagining innovative solutions.
The two-day Conference will culminate in the SDGs Awards held annually to recognize, honor and celebrate outstanding SDGs initiatives and change-makers in different sectors for their achievements and excellence.
The awards are steered by Inter-Agency Technical Working Committee (IATWC) on SDGs in Kenya.