ADDIS ABABA – A vibrant and responsible private sector is crucial for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals, according to Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association (AACCSA).
During a two days conference held to discuss the Sustainable Development Goals in the light of doing business recently, AACCSA Secretary General Getachew Regassa said that achieving the SDGs calls for collaborative efforts by all parties in society, i.e. businesses, non-governmental organizations and the government.
A report from AACCSA showed that, the private sector is now recognized as a key player in the economic and social development of the country, while at the same time responsible for a sustainable use of resources to effectively and efficiently produce goods and provide their services.
Mesenbet Shenkute, President of the Addis Chamber stated, the private sector operators must engage as partners in the development process and invest in areas, critical to sustainable development and adopt sustainable production and consumption processes, developing the right skills and creating decent and durable jobs along the way. And while pursuing long term economic and social development and environmental management, this can be done in a profitable way.
Dr. Temesgen Tilahun carried out a mapping exercise on the SDGs in Ethiopia and shared his findings during the conference. He concludes that although there are many activities implemented that relate to the social, economic and environmental dimensions of the SDGs there are limitations in directly linking them.
It was observed that there are limitations in understanding, linking, implementing, monitoring and evaluating SDG practices and experiences in general and more so in the private sector. Awareness creation is therefore key as well as coordination so that all stakeholders and actors can play their role more effectively.
The initiative taken by the Addis Chamber and Confederation of Danish Industries (DI), to convene this conference was therefore a strategic step in order to create awareness about the SDGs amongst the business community but also to recognize the opportunities that for the private sector to engage in achieving the SDG results in a truly corporate responsible way.
These are ambitious goals to achieve by 2030, only 11 years from now but they contain many opportunities for business to engage. Whether we will be on the right track to achieve them will all depend on the way we go about development and whether or not we indeed embrace sustainability as an outcome and a practice. If not, we will go about our business as usual and fail miserably, it was learnt.
The Ethiopian Herald July6/2019
BY HIZKEL HAILU
