Kenyan leaders at UN New York meeting optimistic new goals will help fight poverty
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta (seated right) and CSs Judy Wakhungu, Anne Waiguru and Amina Mohamed during the Pope's address at the Special Session of the UN General Assembly in New York. A host of Kenyan leaders including President Kenyatta are attending the meeting. MPs present expressed optimism that the new set of 17 goals will help fight poverty in Kenya. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- At the auditorium most of the legislators in attendance could be seen taking notes as Pope Francis delivered his speech.
- However, most expressed optimism that the new set of 17 goals that are to be adopted will tackle, among many other challenges, poverty in Kenya.
- The 17 goals are supposed to dictate how development will be driven by member states in the next fifteen years.
- Kenya played a major role in the formation of the SDGs.
A host of Kenyan leaders, including MPs and other top government officials, are attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Feelings of hope, optimism and a hint of ignorance marked the mood of the Kenyan legislators attending the meeting.
"This is a framework for equitable global prosperity which has not lived up to its full potential because of a cocktail of challenges,” said Budalang'i MP Ababu Namwamba.
While many seemed enthusiastic about the potential that the goals hold for Kenya, some were unable to name a single goal out of the 17 or a target of the 169.
After a few pleasantries, an MP speaking to Nation remarked casually: “We have come here to make sure that the goals are reduced as they are too many.”
At this point, there is no room for negotiating any change in the goals.
EXPRESSED OPTIMISM
However, most expressed optimism that the new set of 17 goals that are to be adopted will tackle, among many other challenges, poverty in Kenya.
The 17 goals are supposed to dictate how development will be driven by member states in the next fifteen years.
Popularly known as the Sustained Development Goals (SDGs), the ambitious new targets are supposed to take over from the previously concluded eight Millennium Development Goals that were formulated in 2000.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is arguably the biggest meeting of the 193 member states of the UN.
70TH MEETING
This is the 70th meeting since the conception of the UN.
While Nation has not established just how many legislators are in New York for the meeting, a source at the Kenyan mission in the US not authorised to speak to the press said that "the large number of those who attended is crucial because the success of the goals is dependent on the political muscle that will be put in them ".
At the auditorium most of the legislators in attendance could be seen taking notes as Pope Francis delivered his speech.
Kenya played a major role in the formation of the SDGs.
Mr Macharia Kamau co-chaired the working group that went through the rigorous three-year process that involved managing complex diplomatic relationships.
