\u201cThe\nlong term resilience of people and the planet must be at the heart of all\neconomic and political decisions,\u201d says a report from the United Nations (UN).\nFor too long, economists, social activists, and environmental scientists have\nsimply talked past each other- probably speaking ‘different languages’. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\nis weird how one can be given power but still has the inertia to wield it.\nPolitical will remains a particular challenge for developing countries today.\nThough often invoked as a concept, it refers to the desire and determination of\npolitical actors to introduce as well as embark on reforms that will bring significant\nand persistent changes in society. It is difficult if not impossible to divorce\npolitical will from sustainable development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Political\nwill is the steering that will turn the wheels of development reforms to\nsustainable capacities. In Africa, political will rests in the hands of the\ngovernment and the ruling political parties. Their political mantra is focused\non exploiting the little they have today for the brief time to feed themselves\nand their families while neglecting their citizens and the future generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sustainable\ndevelopment, however, cannot survive on this concept. Political actors need to\nshift their mantra and focus on creating a development that can sustain both\nthe present and the future, only then are we going to attain sustainability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most\nleaders in Africa treat development as a favor for the common citizen yet it is\ntheir rightful duty to do so. For instance, construction of projects such as\nhospitals, schools, and roads are perceived as favors to citizens and even when\ncomplete, their durability is only short-lived. These leaders do not bear in\nmind that the people concerned pay their taxes and other revenue owed to the\ngovernment for it to be able to carry out meaningful and sustainable projects\nin the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\ndevelopment of societies by political leaders should not be perceived as a favor.\nIt is an obligation which political wielders should embrace lest it is a\ncontribution to the slow development in their countries. Political will is critical\nfor good governance. It provides a responsive governmental and state\nadministrative framework that facilitates meaningful development. It incorporates\nnot only the integrity, efficiency, and transparency of government but also its\neffectiveness as measured by the ends to which government organization and\nactivity are directed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore,\ninvesting in a political will should be a major concern for developing\ncountries \u2013Africa. Every decision made by politicians and policymakers has an\nimpact on the outlook of the country. A change in the attitudes of our leaders\nis the hope for the continent, not the loans and debt cancellation schemes of\nAdvanced Nations that the leaders are scrambling for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nmissing ingredient in development policies in developing countries is\nsustainability. And who is responsible? The answer is and will remain-our\nleaders. When leaders are self-centered and narrow \u2013minded, policies will be\npoorly made and loans will be defectively managed, as was the case of Zaire\nunder the dictatorship of Mobutu. When leaders have no genuine political\ndesires to equally distribute social-economic and political advantages, they\ncreate artificial difficulties in the lives of the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\npolitical will that is egocentric, myopic, and careless of the feelings and\nfuture of others is a serious threat to any fundamental initiative towards\nsustainable development. On the contrary, when political desire looks at the\nfuture and shows no bias in the redistribution of national benefits, it becomes\na sufficient condition for sustainable development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nacid test for the government’s contribution towards sustainable development\nwill be two-fold; its vision to invest political will in the governance system\nand in giving sustainability a place in any of its development plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Achievement\nof SDGs in Africa is dependent on the willingness of political leaders to prioritize\ndevelopment projects and fight unsustainable vices. Kenya and Nigeria, in\nparticular, need political leaders to address the rampant corruption that\nplague all levels of government. Corruption has aggravated the severe and\nprolonged economic failure and embezzlement of public funds in both countries.\nKenya has recently experienced a major loss on economic growth as millions of\ncash is embezzled for one’s own gain. Due to the lack of good political will,\nmost leaders in Africa have put their interests first and the general will of\nthe country last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With\n17 goals and 169 targets, leaders need to prioritize sustainability. Change\nhappens when there is political will. The new normal of sustainable development\nrequires a change in the mindset of political leaders. If leaders commit to the\nSustainable\nDevelopment Goals<\/a> (SDGs) because they can see the benefits-\nor because civil societies groups put pressure on them -then we might see\nresults. Political will is the collective desire of every citizen and the\nresult \u2013good governance- cannot be underrated. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cThe long term resilience of people and the planet must be at the heart of all economic and political decisions,\u201d says a report from the United Nations (UN). For too…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-responsibility"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}