Last week the great and the good descended
upon Manhattan in a rare show of solidarity for a common purpose. The common
purpose is the global aspiration among all nations to achieve equitable
prosperity for all mankind, and in our lifetime.
World leaders adopted 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) that seek to do two things: advance equitable
prosperity and end extreme poverty; and, save the humankind and other forms of
life from the peril of dangerous climate change.
The SDGs, unlike their predecessors, were
framed on a broad consensus forged by wide grass-roots consultation and
inter-governmental negotiations. The SDGs provide a broad platform for citizens,
private sector and civil society to partner with government to provide
services, create value, and promote accountability and equitable prosperity.
In the SDGs, cities matter because more than
50 percent of kind now lives in cities, and the pace of urbanization in Africa
is unprecedented. The SDGs recognize that our patterns of consumption and production
are unsustainable and that we must take urgent action to end our addiction to
fossil fuels, which is causing dangerous climate change. The SDGs recognize
that it is not enough to end poverty. All nations must promote inclusive
economic growth and not just employment but decent work for all.
Overall, these goals are novel. These goals
are non negotiable. These goals are inextricably bound with the basic human
aspirations of wellbeing, justice liberty and equality. Framing the goals was
the easy part. Even easier was gathering all the world leaders to pontificate
about their endorsement and renewed commitment to deliver on the SDGs. But we
all remember this time 15 years ago when world leaders gathered and endorsed the
now defunct MDGs. Will this time be different?
Delivering SDGs will take more than
pontificating at the UN General Assembly. Delivering the SDGs, especially for
the countries in this part of the world, will require political commitment at
the highest level. Delivering SDGs will demand re-framing national development
priorities, combating corruption and upholding fundamental freedoms and
liberties for all citizens. Delivering SDGs will require active, engaged
citizens.
Delivering SDGs will require a fundamental
shift in business-society relations. We must forge unconventional partnerships,
and we must go beyond business as usual.
Business must go beyond corporate social responsibility, public
relations and compunction. There must be a robust, compelling business case. I was
a CEO I would just call the SDGs business development goals. Every SDG is a
business proposition. Think about new investments in clean energy, new portable
technology for delivering clean and safe water, new models for delivering education
and health services to underserved populations. Think about deploying modern
technology that combines satellite applications, cellphones and spectroscopy to
deliver real-time agricultural advisory to smallholder farmers. How about a
solar panel on the roofs of the billion households in Africa?
The SDGs also provide an opportunity to
re-set the relationship between private sector and NGOs. For decades what we
have seen is mistrust between these two communities. Private sector often have
the money but they are motivated by the financial bottom-line, the shareholder
value and hence short-term profit. NGOs especially those working in the
developing world, have deep knowledge of the needs of local communities in the
growth markets of the future. A new partnership between omnipresent NGOs and
business could unlock tremendous value for business, delivering long-term
profits for business and achieving sustainable development goals for hundreds
of millions of families.
Moreover, delivering SDGs, especially in
Africa, will require a new relationship between citizens and their elected
leaders. States must be less extractive and more accountable. Power must be
more distributed and less concentrated in the hands of the privileged elite,
hence more accountable, servant leadership.
Delivering SDGs will require deep structural
reform in most governments to encourage policy integration and cross-sectoral
coordination. In Kenya, this will be especially complex, requiring political
and managerial skills to achieve policy integration on one hand and
inter-governmental coordination on the other.
Delivering SDGs will require knowledge
institutions, including universities to build and deepen a new culture of,
interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary thinking to support formulation,
coordination and implementation of integrated policies.
The SDGs are ambitious and onerous but now
we own them. Delivering SDGs will demand planetary stewardship and responsible
consumption from all of us. We must never forget that we are not proprietors
but trustees of mother earth, our common heritage.
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