Harare,  (New Ziana) – United Nations (UN) resident coordinator for Zimbabwe, Edward Kallon, on Wednesday said the world body was committed to supporting Zimbabwe in its quest to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He said this while addressing representatives of UN agencies, development partners, and senior Government officials at an SDGs Steering Committee meeting in Harare.
Chief secretary to the President and Cabinet, Martin Rushwaya and Kallon jointly chair the steering committee.

“We come together to review progress and reaffirm commitment to accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 goals in Zimbabwe. It is through a collective will and practical solidarity that Zimbabwe can achieve the SDGs within the next five years.

“The United Nations is committed to supporting Zimbabwe in these efforts by mobilizing expertise, brokering effective partnerships, and ensuring that financing and policy solutions are coherent, socially just, and environmentally sustainable,” he said.

Kallon unpacked the enablers that can help the country accelerate economic growth and expedite progress on its SDGs.

The enablers include energy transition, food and land systems, digital connectivity, industrial and manufacturing, urban infrastructure and mobility, as well as social protection and care economy.

“These transitions offer a coherent, investment-led architecture to accelerate SDG delivery and should be sequenced and packaged to ensure investments deliver quick social wins while catalyzing private finance — for example, renewables powering agroprocessing, digital platforms improving market access and social protection, and secure land tenure unlocking agricultural investment,” he said.

Kallon added that efforts must be intensified to accelerate the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion’s initiative to strengthen domestic resource mobilization.

This, he said, can be achieved through modernized tax administration, equitable base broadening, and improved public financial management, all aimed at freeing fiscal space to fund Zimbabwe’s SDG priorities.

In his remarks, chief secretary Rushwaya said Zimbabwe had made meaningful progress in mainstreaming and aligning the SDGs and Agenda 2063 with the forthcoming National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).

“This integration will ensure coherence, efficiency, and impact across our entire national development agenda. Zimbabwe continues to exhibit immense potential for growth and transformation, built on a skilled human capital base, a rich endowment of natural resources, and a strategic regional positioning,” he said.

The meeting served as a platform to review progress across SDG implementation, validate key results, and draw lessons learnt.

It also provided strategic guidance on aligning the SDGs with NDS-1 and Vision 2030 priorities, as well as proposing targeted strategies to accelerate SDG implementation, ensuring that no one is left behind.

New Ziana