The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has organized a one-day multi-stakeholder capacity-building initiative workshop on policy coherence in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 in Accra.
The workshop, organized in collaboration with the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), was to give policymakers, practitioners and stakeholders the tools they need to assess their institutional frameworks, organizational structures and policy-making processes in light of best practices for Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD).
The Director General of the NDPC, Dr Kodjo Esseim Mensah-Abrampa, stated that the issue of policy coherence can help with the achievement of the SDGs and Agenda 2063.
He challenged participants to look beyond the lenses of their ministries to achieve the SDGs and Agenda 2063.
“We must go beyond these ministries’ and sectors’ prisms if we are to succeed in achieving these objectives,” he stated.
Dr Abrampa also urged various ministries and sectors to collaborate to realize the objectives set for a better Ghana.
The Chief Analyst for NDPC and SDG National Coordinator, Dr. Richard Osei Bofah urged attendees to fully engage in the conference since it might impact future decisions that would assist the nation gauge its progress in achieving the stated objectives.
The three main problems with Agenda 2030, according to him, are data, mainstreaming, coordination and communication.
On policy integration, he noted that while African countries have alignment with SDGs, that alignment does not always translate into applying measures to accomplish both agendas.
Dr Bofah indicated that poor governance indicators working to prevent conflict triggers at the national level were to blame for the rise in conflicts on the continent.
He further pointed out that the influence and positioning in relation to the SDGs go beyond the NDPC.
On her part, the Team lead for OECD, Ms Tatyana Teplova, noted that APRM formed the understanding that strives to promote public governance and comprehensive adherence to sustainable development.
“Inequalities, reconstitution, and inadequate public services as well as the infrastructure and the depletion of natural resources are just a few of the hidden causes of vulnerability in our systems that have become visible as a result of the ongoing crisis,” she stated.
The workshop’s theme was “Strengthened Policy Coherence for implementing the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 for Africa.”
The training course benefited about 35 participants from the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.