The Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship through the Housing Department held a three-day workshop on validation of data for localisation of Sustainable Development Goals eleven (SDG11) and New Urban Agenda (NUA) monitoring framework indicators in Maseru from 25th to 27th October 2022. The Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship when officially opening the workshop stated that the SDGs were set in 2015 to be achieved by 2030. In 2016, the NUA was implemented to transform cities and Human settlements by 2036. Mr Manyokole urged the Institutions to provide a continuous means for supporting governance, management and support systems to actualise the SDGs. He indicated that Maseru city requires open data for transparency and clarity to achieve evidence-based policy creation. Mr Manyokole assured the stakeholders that the aim is to strengthen institutional arrangements to enable data usage as a tool to serve the city optimally.
The Maseru City Town Clerk Mr Selete Molete, expressed his gratitude to all the participants attending the meeting. He also articulated that there is a lot of work to be done hence it is essential to work collaboratively. He mentioned that the main goal is to develop Maseru City, therefore urged all stakeholders to work hard for the success of such development, adding that a developed city attracts more investors.
The Housing officer Mrs 'Mamorapeli Bookholane, presented the NUA and its policies, during her presentation she expressed that New Urban Agenda and its policies endorse the SDG11 which commits access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services. Mrs Bookholane mentioned that the slum upgrading program needs enhanced inclusive participation in the planning and management of human settlements. She also said NUA promotes sustainable urban development in cities and human settlements with an emphasis on inclusive participation by all stakeholders and urban actors. She further pointed out that the NUA ensures social, economic, environmental and spatial sustainability.
It is in this workshop whereby National Implementation Team and City Implementation team were introduced to all stakeholders for the first time.
By: Lipolelo Ramoholi
28/10/2022