PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema says there is need for the global community to leverage its resources in order to enhance the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Addressing at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in a pre-recorded statement, Monday, President Hichilema said Zambia remained committed to accelerating the implementation of interventions towards the attainment of SDGs.

“There is an urgent need to enhance Africa’s capacity for innovations and development of ICT’s infrastructure to enable most developing countries including our country Zambia to realise and enjoy the benefits arising from industry 4.0,” President Hichilema said.

“Zambia remains committed to accelerating the implementations of interventions towards attainment of the SDGs. [This is] while recognising the need to enhance existing coordination to enhance insufficiencies to improve target mechanisms and efficient allocation of resources to deliver the desired results. It is therefore important that we leverage on our resources as a global community in order to enhance progress for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.”

President Hichilema noted that COVID-19 was one of the challenges affecting the attainment of the SDGs.

“I wish to start by commending you for successfully conveying this session on the SDGs moment. The conveying of this event is a clear testimony of the commitment that our countries attach towards the full implementation of the goals and targets of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. We live in a changing and dynamic global environment in which countries are interdependent with each other in finding solutions to emerging challenges such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, terrorism, widening technological divide and indeed illegal migration. Since the adoption of the SDGs in 2016, Zambia made its first voluntary national review in 2019 and presented some milestones. Progress towards meeting the goals of the 2030 agenda has however not been without challenges,” said President Hichilema.

“Notable is the coming in of the Coronavirus pandemic that compounded the pre-existing vulnerabilities, inequalities in all spheres of the economy. The pandemic disrupted agriculture production and trade supply chains as well, further the health care system and the provision of the education system was gravely disrupted, especially in parts of the country with adequate ICT solutions.”