South Africa
SOUTH AFRICAN STATEMENT - THEMATIC REVIEW: SDG 17 INVESTING IN AND FINANCING FOR SDGS
• The means of implementation (MOI) are fundamental to the success of countries meeting their development needs, and hence achieving the SDGs yet it’s the one area that does not enjoys the appropriate and desired attention, recognition and priority.
• The narrative we as developing countries hear often is: Do more with less; Use your own national resources; Go to the private sector that is where the money is; Just fix you enabling environment and resources will flow. While relevant these in itself are unfortunately not panaceas
• We need to change this narrative we need "business unusual” - If we are serious about achieving the SDGs we need to be more serious on the MOI
• Developing countries have not been sitting idly by waiting for the new, additional adequate and predictable finance technology and capacity building - We cannot sit idly by because we have a responsibility and commitment to give hope, inspire action, unlock potential to create a better life, a better and more equitable society and protect and conserve our environment for the present and future generations.
• "Vision without action is a daydream and action without vision a nightmare"
• In South Africa, we have our vision which is NDP Vision 2030 within which the SDGs rooted and anchored.
• We have undertaken a multitude of initiatives and programmes to realize our vision such as:
o The Phakisa Approach - Planning and Supporting the Green Economy (Biodiversity economy; Ocean Economy; Recycling and circular economy.
o Working for Energy Programme.
o Creating funding vehicles such as The Green Fund as well as being part of a number of international partnerships such as PAGE, Switch Africa green and the SEED initiative (involving UN Agencies, EU, Germany and other bilateral partners).
• All these initiatives have a strong focus on creating meaningful jobs, empowering the youth and women, eradicating poverty and creating a better life for all.
• We need MOI to support and scale up these domestic efforts and greater revitalized and strengthened global partnerships so that initiatives such as PAGE, Switch and SEED are multiplied and scaled up and complemented with new ones to achieve greater reach and impact.
• Therefore South Africa suggest the following:
o MOI is critical let’s afford it the priority and importance it deserves.
o Developed countries fulfil your pledges and commitments. This has become even relevant in this current political climate.
o Recognise that countries are at different levels of development - recognizing the multidimensional nature of poverty and that income cannot merely be an indicator poverty -similarly MOI cannot merely be based on perceived income indicators. Not reflective of the realities
o Revitalise and Strengthen global partnership taking into consideration country ownership and country drivers -Including international cooperation and collaboration in science, research, technology and innovation, using also expanding public-private and multi-stakeholder partnerships.
o ODA is not irrelevant. Because ODA does not match the developmental needs of developing countries, or there is a lack of it or the fact the only a handful of develop countries meet the commitment does not make ODA irrelevant. It is vital and even more critical than the time we conceived the 0.7 % ODA target.
o We need dedicated focus towards research and innovation policy - Craft policies that incentivise the creation of new technologies, that foster research and that support innovation in developing countries
o Build domestic institutional capacities and using direct access modalities such as in the Green Climate Fund, the adaptation Fund and the Global Environment Facility to complement this.
o Improve and simplify the access modalities for developing countries to access finance, technology and capacity and using fit for purpose approaches to recognise the differing circumstances and levels of development of countries.
o Promote and facilitate greater public and private partnerships
o Provide countries with the appropriate financial instruments, grants, concessional finance, equity and guarantees to enable them not only to remove barriers, de-risk investments, aggregate scale pilots, demonstrate viability of untested tech scaling up efforts and results including to attract and leverage private sector resources and actions.
o Provide developing countries not only with capacity building but readiness support to assist develop high quality projects and programmes at scale for financing by various multilateral funds and institutions such as the MDBs
o We need better data, improved accounting, monitoring reporting and verification of MOI in order for us to make appropriate and informed reviews and policy decisions.
• The means of implementation (MOI) are fundamental to the success of countries meeting their development needs, and hence achieving the SDGs yet it’s the one area that does not enjoys the appropriate and desired attention, recognition and priority.
• The narrative we as developing countries hear often is: Do more with less; Use your own national resources; Go to the private sector that is where the money is; Just fix you enabling environment and resources will flow. While relevant these in itself are unfortunately not panaceas
• We need to change this narrative we need "business unusual” - If we are serious about achieving the SDGs we need to be more serious on the MOI
• Developing countries have not been sitting idly by waiting for the new, additional adequate and predictable finance technology and capacity building - We cannot sit idly by because we have a responsibility and commitment to give hope, inspire action, unlock potential to create a better life, a better and more equitable society and protect and conserve our environment for the present and future generations.
• "Vision without action is a daydream and action without vision a nightmare"
• In South Africa, we have our vision which is NDP Vision 2030 within which the SDGs rooted and anchored.
• We have undertaken a multitude of initiatives and programmes to realize our vision such as:
o The Phakisa Approach - Planning and Supporting the Green Economy (Biodiversity economy; Ocean Economy; Recycling and circular economy.
o Working for Energy Programme.
o Creating funding vehicles such as The Green Fund as well as being part of a number of international partnerships such as PAGE, Switch Africa green and the SEED initiative (involving UN Agencies, EU, Germany and other bilateral partners).
• All these initiatives have a strong focus on creating meaningful jobs, empowering the youth and women, eradicating poverty and creating a better life for all.
• We need MOI to support and scale up these domestic efforts and greater revitalized and strengthened global partnerships so that initiatives such as PAGE, Switch and SEED are multiplied and scaled up and complemented with new ones to achieve greater reach and impact.
• Therefore South Africa suggest the following:
o MOI is critical let’s afford it the priority and importance it deserves.
o Developed countries fulfil your pledges and commitments. This has become even relevant in this current political climate.
o Recognise that countries are at different levels of development - recognizing the multidimensional nature of poverty and that income cannot merely be an indicator poverty -similarly MOI cannot merely be based on perceived income indicators. Not reflective of the realities
o Revitalise and Strengthen global partnership taking into consideration country ownership and country drivers -Including international cooperation and collaboration in science, research, technology and innovation, using also expanding public-private and multi-stakeholder partnerships.
o ODA is not irrelevant. Because ODA does not match the developmental needs of developing countries, or there is a lack of it or the fact the only a handful of develop countries meet the commitment does not make ODA irrelevant. It is vital and even more critical than the time we conceived the 0.7 % ODA target.
o We need dedicated focus towards research and innovation policy - Craft policies that incentivise the creation of new technologies, that foster research and that support innovation in developing countries
o Build domestic institutional capacities and using direct access modalities such as in the Green Climate Fund, the adaptation Fund and the Global Environment Facility to complement this.
o Improve and simplify the access modalities for developing countries to access finance, technology and capacity and using fit for purpose approaches to recognise the differing circumstances and levels of development of countries.
o Promote and facilitate greater public and private partnerships
o Provide countries with the appropriate financial instruments, grants, concessional finance, equity and guarantees to enable them not only to remove barriers, de-risk investments, aggregate scale pilots, demonstrate viability of untested tech scaling up efforts and results including to attract and leverage private sector resources and actions.
o Provide developing countries not only with capacity building but readiness support to assist develop high quality projects and programmes at scale for financing by various multilateral funds and institutions such as the MDBs
o We need better data, improved accounting, monitoring reporting and verification of MOI in order for us to make appropriate and informed reviews and policy decisions.
Stakeholders