STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE
Madam Kenyeh Barlay
Madam President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen
On behalf of the Government and people of Sierra Leone, let me thank the ECOSOC president for convening this edition of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at a crucial time when least-developed countries continue to bear the brunt of the multiple and overlapping crises.
The theme for this year’s General Debate ,” From the SDG Summit to the Summit of the Future” provides us with the appropriate platform for us to engage in robust exchanges as we prepare for the Summit of the Future, and we therefore join the clarion call for collective actions to rescue the SDGs.
Madam President,
This theme resonates with the Sierra Leone’s national goals which are aptly articulated in the country’s Medium-Term National Development Plan 2024-2030 and the Sierra Leone SDG acceleration roadmap.
We have remained strategic in pursuing the SDGs targets, implementing the 2030 agenda within the framework of our national development strategies. In this plan, the Government of Sierra Leone has prioritized our “Big Five Game Changers” ,for a sustainable transformation of the economy. The first of the “Game Changers, the “Feed Salone” Initiative which aligns with (SDGs 1,2 &14) is the Government’s flagship programme for attaining food security, boosting economic growth, and reducing poverty.
The 2024 Voluntary National Review Report for Sierra Leone, clearly recognises this new Plan 2024-2030 as the anchor for operationalising the SDGs on the ground, including the Sierra Leone SDGs Acceleration Roadmap.
Madam President,
Similar to the trend in many LDCs, the VNR process of Sierra Leone shows that a number of SDG targets are at risk of not being met if urgent and collective actions are not taken.
We have noticed heightened Food insecurity and worsening general poverty levels, largely due to the multiple global crises.
All of these are worsened by the existential threat of climate change, which continues to pose a real threat to the lives and livelihoods of people and requires collective efforts to adapt to and mitigate the negative effects of Climate Change.
To complement national efforts in response to these challenges, we call on the sustained support of the UN system and the international community to provide urgent socio-economic response, including debt treatments for LDCs.
Going forward, Sierra Leone will continue to cooperate with the UN and other multilateral institutions in the furtherance of global partnerships and integrated efforts to accelerate action for the Sustainable Development Goals.
Madam President,
The Sierra Leone 2024 VNR report also underscored the urgent need to address the funding gap at both the global and national levels that has undermined SDGs implementation. Efforts to address this funding gap are either being reversed or slowed down by the weak private sector which continues to constrain revenue generation, thereby limiting the fiscal space for SDGs implementation.
To address these fiscal and financing challenges, Sierra Leone as in the case of other countries is adopting innovative financing mechanisms, including climate finance.
Madam President,
As we venture into the climate finance frontier, we call for fairer and more transparent deals for least developed countries. LDCs would require capacity support to enable us to accurately account for and monetize our national carbon assets.
Finally, in the spirit of solidarity and ensuring no LDC is left behind in building resilient economies and ultimately achieving the objectives of the Summit of the Future, it is imperative to increase the percentage of Official Development Assistance (ODA) granted to LDCs.
I Thank You All.
