September 14, 2005
Millennium Goals
NEW YORK, Sept. 14 (BOPA): President Festus Mogae has called on the international community to continue to assist countries such as Botswana, which are deemed to have attained middle income status.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Financing for Development on Wednesday, Mogae emphasised that the countries should continue to be assisted as they are in the process of consolidating their economic gains.
Botswana’s diplomats at the UN say all taps of financial assistance often dry-up when a country is reclassified as middle income. They say countries, including Botswana, Namibia and the Cape Verde have to borrow from international financing institutions, including the World Bank at high interest rates after being elevated from the category of least developed to middle income developing countries.
Mogae complained before 170 world leaders that the countries are disadvantaged and appear to be penalised for making progress through good governance and pursuit of sound macro-economic policies.
He stated that increased official development assistance flows and the removal of trade barriers were necessary if developing countries were ever to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were set in Monterrey, Mexico, two years ago.
“Recent reports on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration indicate that there has been only limited progress in the achievement of the MDGs, especially on the African continent.
“This is because programmes to address major health challenges in Africa, such as HIV/AIDS and high maternal mortality, are under-funded, while people living in extreme poverty remains high,” Mogae explained.
The three-day summit that coincides with the UN’s celebration of 60 years of existence is billed as the largest gathering of world leaders in history.
Its aim is to review progress in the implementation of the MDGs, which include reducing extreme poverty, among others. The meeting will also look at co-ordination of major decisions taken at UN summits and conference and reforms of the organisation.
Mogae said the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region has managed to reduce gender disparities in education and improve access to sanitation and other facilities, but is held back by high levels of HIV/AIDS infection and poverty.
While acknowledging the need for SADC countries to mobilise their own resource to implement the Monterrey Consensus, Mogae also called on rich countries to ensure the allocation of 0.7 per cent of their Gross National Income as official development assistance.
In addition, President Mogae said the world applaud debt relief to some poor countries, but regretted that the move has not resulted in debt sustainability in the region.
“This underscores the need for the cancellation of debts that cannot be serviced without placing a burden on impoverished people in the region,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Mogae and the other leaders are scheduled to approve a set of agreements and proposals to reform the 191-member UN at the close of the summit on Friday.
These include an agreement to set-up a new human rights council to replace the UN Human Rights Commission, commitment to break down trade barriers, creation of a peace-building commission to help nations emerging from war and an obligation to intervene when a country fails to protect its people.
The leaders will also express support for the UN's Millennium Development Goals as a long-term strategy for eliminating world poverty.
