All SDGs carry equal weight: Molewa

Cairo – During the 6th special Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Cairo, Egypt, South African Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa told delegates that the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) all hold equal value.

Molewa said this meant that “no one particular Sustainable Development Goal should be prioritised over the other” as the continent worked towards achieving those goals by 2030.

Molewa was speaking to African environmental ministers from across the continent present at AMCEN to deliberate on the implications of the SDGs and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda for Africa.

The session is being held under the theme “Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement: from policy to implementation in Africa”.

She said while many were, for example, enthusiastic about rolling out renewable energy across the continent as part of the Affordable and Clean Energy goal, this should not be focused on at the cost of the goal to End Poverty in all its forms everywhere.

Molewa said: “It should not be that some SDGs should enjoy greater prominence than others, especially for a continent like ours with innumerable challenges of poverty eradication, it is important not to neglect this goal.”

She emphasised that “it was the responsibility of all countries to ensure that the letter and spirit of the SDGs are reflected in, and aligned with national, sub-national and local plans”.

When it came to South Africa’s commitment to sustainability, Molewa said: “The SDGs are aligned to South Africa’s National Development Plan, which has sustainable development at its core.”

Molewa acknowledged the challenge of financing to enable African countries to implement sustainable development initiatives and programmes at sub-regional and national level.

“It may be that some want to fund us on the basis of opportunities this presents to the private sector…there is enthusiasm to invest in renewable energy for instance, but less of an inclination to fund poverty alleviation programmes. It is clear then that we need to strike a balance,” she said.

Ministers at the AMCEN noted that African countries needed to co-operate more closely to mobilise adequate and predictable financial resources needed for the implementation of sustainable development initiatives on the continent.

AMCEN was established in 1985 to provide advocacy for environmental protection in Africa.

African News Agency

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