By Ntokozo Nkambule
The Minister for Economic Planning & Development, Dr. E.T. Tambo Gina today officially opened the third meeting of the Joint National Steering Committee (J-NSC).
The opening of the meeting took place today at the Royal Villas and was facilitated by the United Nations Eswatini (UN). Present during the High-Level Meeting was the UN Resident Coordinator in Eswatini and Co-Chair of the J-NSC, His Excellency George Wachira, and Heads of Missions from the USA, European Union (EU), ROC, Taiwan, Japan, the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank.
The J-NSC was established to provide strategic guidance and oversight in the development and implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDF) 2021-2025. The UNSDF was launched in January 2021.
In his address, the Minister noted that the Committee is mandated to convene at least once each year to review the progress and effectiveness of the implementation cooperation framework. Gina observed that they have already made significant progress in the country and have some achievements worth celebrating.
“Specifically, I would like to highlight some of the achievements we have already made. The country was assisted to produce the second Voluntary National Review Report, which was presented at the High-Level Forum on SDGs in New York, in July 2022. The country has also received support towards the preparation of the National Development Plan (NDP) which will guide the planning process from 2023 to 2028.”
Despite the achievements, the Minister also shared some of the challenges they have encountered. He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic, tropical cyclone, and civil unrest in the country have all affected in a number of ways.
“Further to that, I have been made aware of some of the challenges that presented themselves at the strategic technical, and operational levels. These tended to affect the facilitation of result group meetings and hindered information flow including progress reporting” he asserted.
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