With just seven years to the end of the implementation period for United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Malawi can still attain its targets with proper planning and prioritisation of its development activities.
Renowned global development expert, Dr. Bjorn Lomborg, said in Lilongwe that prioritizing interventions with higher impact and more value money could enable countries like Malawi achieve their SDGs targets even with limited resources.
He was speaking during a public lecture titled: ‘Redeeming the SDGs: More resources or value for money?’.
“Resources will always be limited, so the best way of achieving more is doing the best things first,” said Bjorn, who is president of international think tank, the Copenhagen Consensus Centre and publisher of a high selling book, ‘Best Things First’.
Minister of Finance Hon. Sosten Gwengwe, agreed with Bjorn, saying Malawi’s budgeting needed a selfless approach that should see government ministries, departments and agencies implementing carefully selected activities not just what they are used to doing.
“We must adopt the spirit of accommodating change in the way we operate,” he said.
On her part, Budget and Finance Committee of Parliament chair Hon. Gladys Ganda highlighted the need for cost-benefit-analysis before interventions are sent to Parliament for funding.
Photos by Mary Adams Phiri
