Windhoek
With most countries failing to attain all the Millennium Development Goals set in 2000, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Professor Peter Katjavivi, says strict monitoring and the availing of resources will be pivotal for the success of the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
As the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) draws closer, parliaments across the world are already taking the necessary steps to ensure that the Post-2015 Development Agenda is implemented in a much more efficient manner than the MDGs were.
“The world has moved on and we would like to learn from the experiences of the MDGs so as to engage in the Post-2015 Agenda,” said Katjavivi at a press conference last week.
In a declaration adopted by Speakers at the Fourth World Conference of Speakers Parliament held recently in New York, they expressed concern over the uneven progress between regions and countries and the wide gaps that remain.
Katjavivi said parliaments should not just play an oversight role, but should also be actively involved when it comes to monitoring.
“For those that did not meet the goals, it is not time to give up but rather time to reinforce so that we can start afresh,” he said.
The seven MDGs were premised on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combatting HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development.
This newspaper reported in August that despite challenges of monumental proportions, Namibia has made commendable progress in meeting the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – with successes noted in the areas of poverty reduction, education, gender equality, health and environmental sustainability.
The country is, however, off target with regard to equitable distribution of income, eradication of hunger and halving the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation, among a list of unachieved targets.
The Post-2015 Development Agenda will also in all likelihood tackle extreme poverty, curb climate change, and put the world on a more prosperous and sustainable path by 2030 which focuses on key factors such as new sets of goals and targets to build on and succeed the MDGs.
It will also outline financing and means of implementation models as well as a tracking process on commitments made by those involved.