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CSOs platform on SDGs: Define our role in Ghana Beyond Aid Agenda

The Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) platform on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is asking for clarity on the concept and definition of ‘aid’ as espoused in the Ghana Beyond Aid Agenda.

It has also called for precision on the roles of CSOs, the informal economy, youth, persons with disability (PWDs) and other vulnerable groups in the country in the self-reliance vision.

According to the group, this would help the aforementioned groups, which were critical stakeholders in the country’s development, to contribute effectively to the achievement of the GBA.

These were contained in a position paper issued in Accra after several CSOs that constitute the platform held a two-day meetin (December 19 and 20 last year) to discuss   the GBA and its implications on civil society sustainability.

“Our position espouses the view of stronger sustainability, collective development and long-term planning that guarantees effective implementation of the noble agenda”, the paper said.

The Ghana Beyond Aid is an agenda propagated by the government in 2017 as a long term vision to make the country self-reliant. A charter and strategy document has been launched to execute it.

For its effective and successful implementation, the platform recommended that the policy should focus on the larger informal economy since it had the potential to boost the economic growth of Ghana towards self-reliance.

“The African Continental Free Trade Agenda has a huge potential for the attainment of the Ghana Beyond Aid Agenda, yet this potential is not fully explored”, the platform said and called for dedicated focus on it.

It said state institutions should be empowered to function independently without political interference as well as back the Ghana Beyond Aid with legal framework for continuity and sustainability during alternating of power.

To ensure economic stability, prosperity and development, it said the government should reposition and redefine their programmes and policies to meet the needs of current generation without compromising the needs of future generations.

According to the CSOs, the agenda was commendable because it “represents a realistic recognition of the fact that donor fatigue is increasingly becoming a factor in the efforts to reach the poor countries of the world.”

If effectively implemented, the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda would promote the sovereignty of the state and in the long term rebrand and reposition Ghana as a relevant and equal partner in the global development front.

The platform said the agenda would also inspire the innovation critical to diversify the economy to lift Ghana to the next level of development and position private sector well as the engine of growth.

“It is imperative that countries become more self-reliant, independent and control its economic destiny for human development and prosperity. It is in this light that we share in the Ghana Beyond Aid Agenda”, it said.

 BY TIMES REPORTER

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