GNA- The private sector has been tasked to consider the Sustainable development Goals (SDGs) as an opportunity to partner with the Government on national development.
Dr Eugene Owusu, Presidential Advisor on SDGs, who made the call, said the Government and its stakeholders looked to the smart solutions private sector collaboration could generate and were also optimistic of the opportunities the Goals held for the latter.
The Presidential Advisor was opening a breakfast meeting that capped the Ho edition of the 2022 SDGs Day out event.
“In the absence of a robust engagement with the private sector, we stand very little chance of achieving the SDGs. The SDGs present common grounds for government and business to find smart solutions to the pressing development challenges that we have a country.”
Dr Owusu noted that private sector adoption of the SDGs would add positive impetus, and provide innovation and expertise towards its implementation.
“Is it about your voice- your voice across the SDGs as influencers? We must work together and bring your strong voice as influencers to bear on this noble agenda.
“Secondly, it is about the great deal of expertise, knowledge, best practices and innovation that sits within the private sector space- how do we work closely together to bring these incredible assets that you have, to bear in the implementation,” he stated.
The Presidential Advisor added that the collaboration hoped to produce “tangible programmes and activities that bring about real transformation in the lives of the people”, and help “plan and implement vital initiatives that would cause communities and individuals to readily appreciate what the SDGs represent in their lives”.
He said a successful private sector engagement with the Government had led to the establishment of the CEOs Advisory Group on the SGDs and the SDGs Delivery Fund, and there existed plans to institutionalize the private sector engagements at the regional level.
Dr Owusu urged the private sector to consider the experiences of the Coronavirus pandemic, which came to cement the relevance of the SDGs, and “mobilise business to accelerate and scale up their investments.
Dr Alhassan Andani, Former CEO and Executive Director of Stanbic Bank Ghana, said the private sector should find the development goals studded with economic opportunities, and prioritize partnerships to facilitate success.
“There is everything in the SDGs that we can bring home to make things better,” he said, adding that global implementation of the SDGs would significantly affect the operations of the private sector.
Dr Andani appealed to sector players to look to the SDGs Delivery Fund, which he said would be impactful in gaining in on the Goals and called on entities including the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) to help keep the fund more accountable.
Mr Dela Gadzanku, Chairman for the Eastern Volta and Oti branches of the AGI, said the Association found the SDGs “extremely important because they created a pathway that holds potentials for responsible companies to enhance their profitability and fundamentally change how business is done.”
He said with the promotion of sustained economic growth, higher levels of productivity and technological innovation, the SDGs had become a crucial consideration.
“The SDGs have not only created a new language or painting about the most pressing problems facing humanity but also a new sense of purpose for all nations and Africa in particular, hence this multi-sectorial discourse on the SDGs is one that we regard as a sovereign opportunity to recast our actions and decisions into a new framework; one that strengthens a new partnership in our mode of thought and business practice.
“Every layer of our economic activity touches lightly or strongly on the SDGs, and has far-reaching implications for measuring up to the ideals of the Goals,” the Regional Chairman said.
Mr Gadzanku reassured that the AGI was “deeply committed” to supporting post covid recovery of companies and enterprises, and building “strong connections between their operations and the SDGs to enhance their official impact”.
The business roundtable brought together leaders of major businesses in the region and featured heads of various relevant agencies and departments.
Dr Fareed Arthur, National Coordinator and Senior Technical Advisor at the AfCFTA Coordination Office of the Ministry of Trade led entrepreneurs at the meeting to explore conduits to leverage the opportunities of the AfCFTA.
The three-day event had been organized by the SDGs Advisory Unit of the Office of the President in collaboration with the Volta Regional Coordinating Council, the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), and the Volta Region House of Chiefs among other partners.
The event, which was on the theme “Our World at a Triple Tripping Point: The Urgency of SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Action”, had included a health walk, engagements with Chief Executives of the Various Assemblies in the Region, and traditional leaders, and offered an SDG forum and an innovation challenge.
Source: Ghana News Agency