National Multistakeholder Forum on SDG Localization Concluded

National Multistakeholder Forum on SDG Localization Concluded

20 June 2022, Kathmandu. 
National Multistakeholder Forum on SDG Localization concluded in Kathmandu. Chief guest of the program was Hon. Ganesh Prasad Timilsina, Chairperson of the National Assembly – Parliament of Nepal. 

Responsible government agencies of the government at different levels presented the current situation, initiatives and challenges to localization and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Hon. Dr. Ram Kumar Phuyal – Member of National Planning Commission, Hon. Pralhad Lamichhane – Member of Policy and Planning Commission of Bagmati Province, and Hon. Maya Timsina, Member of Policy and Planning Commission of Gandaki Province represented the focal agencies for SDGs at the federal and province levels. Likewise, Mr Ashok Kumar Byanju Shrestha, Mayor of Dhulikhel Municipality and President of Municipality Association of Nepal (MuAN) shared some good examples how Dhulikhel Municipality has been working for implementation of SDGs.  Mr. Rishi Dev Phuyal – Chief of District Coordination Committee Lalitpur also spoke in the program. 

Hon. Chairperson of the National Assembly questioned how the budget distributed unfairly will help achieve the SDGs. He said the budget distribution based on the discretion of Ministry of Finance rather than the actual need will not help. He said that we are still engaged in planning and creating mechanisms but lag behind in actual implementation and practice. He emphasized on the transformative actions. This is the responsibility of all and so need to fulfill their roles. He suggested that political parties should include the SDG implementation in their manifesto and everyone should demand for this. Allocation of resources should be aligned with the SDGs. He was doubtful that Local Levels have adequate knowledge and capacity to plan and implement targeting the achievement of the SDGs. Responsibility of monitoring of the SDG implementation should be given to District Coordination Committees, he suggested. Institutionalizing regular monitoring and then learning and improvement will be helpful, he said. 

Deputy General Manager of National Cooperative Federation Mr. Babul Khanal represented the cooperative sector, and Director General of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Mr. Gokarna Raj Awasthi represented cooperative sector. 

Initially, a video message of Mr. John Romano, Coordinator of TAP Network, was played. Mr. Arjun Bhattarai, Secretary General of NFN shed light on the role and concerns of civil society for the implementation and localization of SDGs. CSO leaders Mr Min Bahadur Shahi and Mr. Shanta Lall Mulmi also spoke in the program. 

The program was chaired by NFN President Ram Prasad Subedi and moderated by Vice President Ms Bhawana Bhatta. 

The Forum was helpful to bring different stakeholders together to share and reflect on the situation and roles for the localization and acceleration of the SDGs. 

The program was organized by NGO Federation of Nepal, Nepal SDGs Forum and supported by TAP Network.