We must redirect national efforts towards sustainable development

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”

Charles Dickens may have used these words in a totally different context to introduce his 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities but they were given immediate relevance and meaning in Kenya this week.

Three weeks ago, the Ministry of Devolution and Planning announced that Kenya would on September 14 launch its roadmap to the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was the best of times because the national launch was long overdue.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the SDGs in September 2015, thereby providing a 15-year global framework for sustainable development in critical areas: people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnerships (the five Ps). Countries were then expected to domesticate the goals to align them with national contexts, capacities, and priorities and rally citizens around their implementation when they came into force on January 1, 2016.

The announcement of the national launch ushered in a season of light, a spring of hope. With the President scheduled to preside over the launch, Kenya would be joining the league of African nations that have made significant strides in realigning their national development programming to SDGs.

A WINTER

The spring of hope would quickly turn into a winter of despair at the Safaricom Stadium Kasarani, the venue of the launch. Only a handful of people occupied a few front rows but the venue was largely empty. It became apparent that neither the President nor his deputy would attend.

It turned out to be the worst of times. All of a sudden, we had nothing before us. When Mr Mwangi Kiunjuri, the Cabinet secretary for Devolution and Planning, rose to speak, the echo of the emptiness of the arena was profound. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry to conclude and leave, perhaps to lessen the embarrassment of speaking to empty chairs.

We lost a glorious chance to rally citizens around the global sustainable development agenda. We forfeited an opportunity to bury the ghosts of the implementation delays that bedevilled the Millennium Development Goals. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr, we enthusiastically cashed a stale cheque. Just when we were on a direct trajectory to Heaven, we started going directly the other way. A national grand discussion that was expected regarding strategies to end poverty, achieve gender equality, and promote inclusive education and effective health services was reduced to a mere whimper. In the coming days, we must as a country come and reason together on how such a momentous occasion was so mismanaged, it left consequences that may take years to rectify.

DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

The SDGs provide a long-term development agenda. We must right the wrongs committed last Wednesday and rally men, women, youth, and children to become active participants in the implementation of the goals.

The world honoured Kenya to co-chair, with Hungary, the stakeholders Open Working Group that conceptualised the SDGs. To reciprocate this recognition, we must strive to be role models among the family of nations in their domestication and implementation.

The ministry of Planning must institute a strong and coordinated media campaign and reach out to all stakeholders in the spirit of the SDG rallying call, “Leave no one behind”. We must redirect our collective national efforts towards the sustainable development that the SDGs aspire to.

Joseph Muthuri is a policy and advocacy specialist.

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