SDGs: African leaders urged to look inward for implementation financing
Sam Kutesa, the former foreign affairs minister, says each of the SDGs can be turned into a business opportunity and leveraged to attract investment from the private sector.
Left to right: Amama Mbabazi, Former Prime Minister of Uganda, Gilbert Bukenya, Former Vice President Uganda, Ernest Bai Koroma, former President of Sierra Leone,Jakaya Kikwete, former President of Tanzania, Robinah Nabbanja, Prime Minister of Uganda, Hailemariam Desalegn , former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Mohamed Moncef Marzouki, former president of Tunisia, Ruhakana Rugunda, former Prime Minister of Uganda and Sam Kutesa, former foreign minister of Uganda at the 8th African Leadership Forum at Speke Resort Munyonyo. (Photos by Miriam Namutebi)
By John Masaba
Journalists @New Vision
________________
Governments have been urged to develop homegrown solutions as African countries, including Uganda, join the rest of the world in accelerating the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs) ahead of the 2030 deadline.
Sam Kutesa, the former foreign affairs minister, says each of the SDGs can be turned into a business opportunity and leveraged to attract investment from the private sector. This would significantly reduce the cost of shouldering implementation by the government.
He said all the 17 goals could be a business opportunity if the governments put in place, an enabling environment that can make these attractive for the private sector to invest in.
“Education (SDG goal 5), health (SDG 3) and agriculture (SDG 1) are business opportunities. How do we bring in the private sector? The idea is to de-risk investment in those areas through government policy. That is something we need to focus on, “ said Kutesa while speaking during the 8th African Leadership Forum (ALF) at Speke Resort Hotel, Munyonyo, Kampala on Monday, April 7, 2025.
“Also we can leverage our natural resources, and add value to them and get money to finance our own agenda. Let us not think others will help us,” he added.
Plan B
Kutesa's call came amidst reports that while some progress has been registered on the SDGs as reported in voluntary reviews, experts worry that Africa, is currently off track with most SDG targets and has even seen regression in certain areas.
From right; President Yoweri Museveni leading former President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, Former President of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, former president of Tunisia, Mohamed Moncef Marzouki and other dignitaries as they arrived for the 8th African Leadership Forum at Speke Resort Munyonyo on April 07, 2025. 
Kutesa, who was Uganda's representative to the United Nations when the SDG was inaugurated in 2015, said the poor performance is due to the fact that countries have run out of money to implement the goals.
He said that when he and former UN Secretary-General Banki Moon were hosted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, shortly after the SDGs were inaugurated, leaders emphasised that focus should be put on identifying how financing the goals can be done.
“What did we say in Addis Ababa? We said we shall use the Brentwood institutions (like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund), the private sector, philanthropists and Official Development Assistance (ODA) to give us money. However, as we stand now this money has dried up,” he said.
“The only thing that remains in our hands is domestic revenue which we can rely on,” he added.
Cohesive package
The SDGs form a cohesive and integrated package of global aspirations that the world is committed to achieving, building on the accomplishments of their predecessors, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Uganda is one of the countries that adopted SDGs in 2015, joining a total of 192 in the world in the journey that is set to conclude in 2030.
Achievement of the goals is based on the principle of “leaving no one behind”.