Promote democracy, UN tells Zim

Minister Frederick Shava

BY TAPFUMANEI MUCHABAIWA

THE United Nations has urged Zimbabwe to remove inequalities, promote the rule of law, human rights and gender equality and uphold basic democratic tenets to achieve sustainable development.

Speaking at the UN’s 77th anniversary in Harare yesterday, UN resident and humanitarian co-ordinator Edward Kallon said: “Over the years, it has been demonstrated that traditional development assistance in the absence of effective local resource mobilisation and national ownership is not enough to achieve sustainable development. A conducive policy environment premised on removing all inequalities, upholding the rule of law, engendering respect for human rights and gender equality, and upholding basic democratic tenets are critical prerequisites for sustainable development.”

The UN 77th anniversary was commemorated under the theme: A watershed moment: Transformative solutions to interlocking challenges.

Kallon urged the country to come up with strong, efficient and accountable institutional mechanisms for service delivery; including an efficient public fiscal management system with robust regulatory mechanisms and quality health and educational services to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Speaking at the same event, Foreign Affairs minister Frederick Shava said achievement of SDGs had been derailed by sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West.

“Our efforts to transform society have been seriously hamstrung by sanctions imposed by some Western countries. These sanctions have inflicted untold suffering among the generality of the Zimbabwean people, and are hampering the implementation of the inclusive SDGs and recovery from the global COVID-19 pandemic,” Shava said, adding that Zimbabwe was committed to the UN Charter on SDGs.

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