UB hosts launch of the Botswana SDGs roadmap

VP Masisi and Ms Pelane
Vice president Masisi presenting the SDGs Roadmap document to Ms Lilian Pelane, a UB PhD student who made a Statement of Commitment on behalf of the youth of Botswana.

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development launched the Botswana Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) roadmap in partnership with the United Nations and University of Botswana at the UB Stadium on February 22, 2018.

The roadmap was launched by the Vice President, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi who is also the University of Botswana Chancellor during a ceremony attended by different stakeholders among them ministers, MPs, diplomatic corps, the UB community and district commissioners.

SDGs are 17 Goals adopted by world leaders in September 2015 and implemented at the start of 2016 to transform the world by 2030. More than 150 countries have pledged to mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities, and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind. SDGs build on the work of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were emphasized from 2000 to 2015. The new SDGs are unique in that they are broader in their scope of eradicating all forms of poverty by calling for action by all countries, rich and poor, to promote prosperity while protecting the planet.

Launching Botswana’s roadmap, Chancellor Masisi said it represented an important milestones in the country’s ongoing efforts to build a more inclusive society which left no Motswana behind. He observed that the roadmap was a domestication and localisation of the SDGs, and served as a strategic document providing for the implementation and monitoring of the goals within the National Development Plan 11 and beyond with reference to six other strategic areas.

Among these six other strategic areas is the need for policy research interventions which strategically places the University of Botswana and other research institutions as drivers of research.

“The roadmap has identified policy-oriented research as an important component to support implementation of the SDGs. This calls for concerted effort between the research community, policy makers and other relevant stakeholders,” said the Vice President.

SDGs
Vice President Masisi, Gaborone District Commissioner, Ms Grace Seitshiro, Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Dr Alfred Madigele and UN Rep, Ms Jancita Barrins after they were presented with the SDGs Roadmap document.

Mr Masisi emphasised that making the SDGs a reality required determined and collective, effort not only on the part of Government, but also the private sector, civil society, academia, trade unions, youth and women groups as well as support of the UN system and Botswana’s development partners.

United Nations Resident Coordinator, who is also the United Nations Development Programme resident representative in Botswana, Mrs Jacinta Barrins, also highlighted the importance of the University of Botswana championing the implementation of SDGs in Botswana.

Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Dr Alfred Madigele, said the launch built on previous discussions between UB, Government and United Nations Development Programme. Dr Madigele called on researchers to be an integral part of the implementation of SDGs in Botswana through research and data that enhances monitoring

He said research and academic institutions such as UB underpinned implementation of SDGs by enhancing access to education and offering relevant quality programmes as well as competent human resource.

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