By Kingsley Webora TANKEH
A financing roadmap drawn by the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other United Nations (UN) agencies in Ghana shows the need to raise about US$522billion in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
However, if government’s annual revenues appropriation – the budget – is excluded, the country needs to raise a whopping US$430billion in financing.
“When you spread that between 2020 and 2030, Ghana needs to raise about US$43billion annually before we can meet the 2030 SDGs,” said Mr. Peter Aidoo, an economist and Development Coordination Officer at the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office.
These figures at least give a clear picture of where the country stands in terms of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by the said deadline.
The SDGs are a set of 17 global objectives adopted by the United Nations in 2015. They aim to address critical development challenges and promote a more sustainable and equitable future for all by 2030.
These goals include eradicating poverty, ensuring good health and wellbeing, gender equity and achieving universal access to quality education and clean water & sanitation.
While countries in the global north are leading the park, with countries like Finland, Sweden and Denmark having achieved more than 85 percent of SDGs, the global south’s path still remains tortuous.
The devastating impact of climate change and lack of funding derailed efforts toward achieving these goals.
To accelerate attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in Ghana, UN Global Compact Network Ghana organised a Business Executives Dialogue in Accra on the theme ‘Financing Ghana’s sustainable future and strengthening private sector contribution to the VNR process’.
The event brought together stakeholders from public and private sectors, banks and the UN to discuss sustainable finance and opportunities and challenges the private sector faces in supporting Ghana’s drive to achieve sustainable development.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Aidoo expressed worry about the quantum of illicit financial flows out of the country – stressing that when checked, those funds could help bridge the funding gap.
“We are chasing the IMF for just US$3billion while every year we lose US$1.44billion to illicit financial flows,” he bemoaned.
Africa has lost over US$1.4trillion to illicit financial flows in 3 decades. Sub-Saharan Africa lost US$528.9billion between 2003 and 2012. While Ghana alone between 2022 and 2011 lost US$14.39billion to illicit financial flows.
However, he commended government and the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) for their commitment in reporting on the Voluntary National Review (VNR) and successful incorporation of the 2019 Vienna recommendations.
“They have been very consistent since 2019, using a global society and system-wide approach,” he said.
He therefore advised that district and regional GDP be computed to aid in assessing the country’s SDG progress. “One of the key recommendations was to have a comprehensive report on the SDGs,” he added.
Following US President Donald Trump’s abolition of USAID, which sent shockwaves across Europe with some developing partners including Sweden and Denmark also withdrawing funding, President John Dramani Mahama acknowledged that the country would lose about US$150million in critical funding.
In view of this, the economic advisor suggested that there should be some rationalisation in the budget to make up for the cuts. Otherwise, critical health supplies – the procurement of vaccines for immunisation of children and pregnant women, antiretroviral drugs, malaria vaccines, a chunk of health expenditure – will be impacted severely, since “that whole stream of financing was technically funded by USAID”.
While commending government’s commitment to the IMF programme and the reforms being implemented including the cancellation of e-levy, the UN Economist underscored the need to fix the financing gap.
The UN has made recommendations to that effect. These include a review of the policy and regulatory framework to create an enabling environment for investments, catalyse financing through private partnerships and improve capacities of MSMEs to make them bankable.
The economic advisor advised government to prioritise strengthening food systems, a just energy transition, future-ready education, decent work and social protection and climate & biodiversity in order to meet the SDGs by 2030.
“Divert most of your investment into these areas and that will catalyse growth in all other areas,” he noted.
