Despite election hangover, we ought to care for SDGs

BY EDITOR

28th October 2015.

Tanzania's are slowly but surely coming to terms with the results of the presidential, parliamentary and civic elections held on Sunday.

 

Depending on how the hard facts of the process sink in, different people will be licking their wounds in ways only they know how. What matter most, though, is that life goes on will not wait for the atmosphere to cool down before it normalises.

 

Fortunately, most people have been heard time and again openly ‘admitting’ that there was life before and during the October 25 General Election and there will be life well beyond the polls. The optimism is an asset we ought to jealously treasure and vigorously protect.

 

For, it is aptly said that there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…. a time to plant and a time to uproot;  a time to tear down and a time to build;  a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to keep and a time to throw away; a time to tear and a time to mend; a time to be silent and a time to speak…

 

Now, regardless of how winners and losers will choose to address the aftermath of the elections, we thought it would pay the most handsome dividends for the nation to do the most it can to implement the recently globally endorsed 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Tanzania was not alone in falling short of fully achieving the eight UN-sanctioned Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), whose time elapses come this December 31 and which the SDGs take over from. However, it is real consolation and indeed something to be very proud of that there are areas where the country has done so noticeably well as to win international acclaim.

 

The SDGs include ending poverty in all its forms globally; ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition as well as promoting sustainable agriculture; ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all; and ensuring inclusive and equitable education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.

 

Among the others are achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls; ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all; ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all; and promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

 

Yet others include building resilient, infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and fostering innovation; making human settlements more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; ensuring sustainable production and consumption patterns; and taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

 

While this already constitutes a tall order for humankind, there is also the need to conserve and use the oceans, seas and marine resources; sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, reverse land degradation and diversity loss; provide access to justice through enhanced accountability; and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development.

 

With all this on our plates, our hands must surely be too full for us to continue crying over spilled milk, if you will. So, as we nurse our post-election hangovers, we need to resume other serious business that will add meaning to our lives. This will include caring for SDGs.

 

 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN