Parliament to Set up SDGs Oversight and Implementation Committee

he Parliament of Ghana is to set up an Ad Hoc Committee to oversight and to monitor the implementation of the programmes aimed at attaining the Sustenable Development Goals (SDGs) set out to be achieved by the year 2030.

The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, gave the directive to the leadership of the House to constitute the seven-member committee to be largely dominated by MPs who are not already in leadership positions in order that they can get enough time to do the work.

The move is as the result of an advocacy by the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, who made a call on Parliament to own the implementation process in order to ensure the country does not miss some of the SDG targets as pertained in its predecessor program, the MDGs.

According to the Minority Leader, “It is imperative that parliament exercise effective oversight of the implementation of the SDGs to avoid the pitfalls encountered in the implementation of the MDGs and to ensure that we do not miss the SDG targets.”

The SDGs are the United Nation’s agenda to tackle global challenges such as poverty, climate change, environmental degradation, inequality, prosperity, peace and justice.

In the year 2015, all the 93 Members of the United Nations (UN) unanimously adopted the 17 goals for the SDGs and accepted the call to action to promote prosperity and protect the environment by 2030.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has succeeded his Predecessor, former President John Dramani Mahama as the Co-chair of the Group of Eminent Advocates for the 2030 Agenda, together with the Prime Minister of Norway, H. E. Erna Solberg.

Making a statement on the Floor of Parliament on Wednesday, the Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for the Tamale South constituency, Haruna Iddrisu, emphasised that the appointment of the current President of Ghana to replace the former President in his capacity as the Co-chair of the Group reflects the continued trust the UN has in Ghana to play a lead role in the attainment of the SDGs.

He argued that, according to the Ghana Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) 2015 Report, Ghana missed targets such as “full and productive employment, equal share of women in non-agriculture wage employment, women’s involvement in governance, reducing under-5 and child mortality, reducing maternal mortality, reversing environmental resource loss and improving sanitation”, because Parliament was left out of the implementation process.

While, he acknowledged the good intentions of the High-Level Ministerial Committee appointed by the President to oversee the progress of the implementation of the SDGs in Ghana, the Minority Leader was of the view that the move was largely an Executive action and therefore the need for the people’s representatives to play their part to strengthen the oversight and implementation of the Goals.

“Mr. Speaker, I accordingly propose that Parliament establish a Seven-Member Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee (or any number and however described, acceptable to Mr. Speaker and the House) tasked with the responsibility to monitor Ghana’s progress on the implementation of the SDGs, consider progress reports from implementing MDAs and advise Parliament on budgetary allocations and other appropriate interventions to ensure that we are on track in the implementation of the Goals.”

Source: Clement Akoloh//africanewsradio.com