A host of Kenyan leaders, including MPs and other top government
officials, are attending the United Nations General Assembly in New
York.
Feelings of hope, optimism and a hint of ignorance marked the mood of the Kenyan legislators attending the meeting.
"This
is a framework for equitable global prosperity which has not lived up
to its full potential because of a cocktail of challenges,” said
Budalang'i MP Ababu Namwamba.
While many seemed
enthusiastic about the potential that the goals hold for Kenya, some
were unable to name a single goal out of the 17 or a target of the 169.
After
a few pleasantries, an MP speaking to Nation remarked casually: “We
have come here to make sure that the goals are reduced as they are too
many.”
At this point, there is no room for negotiating any change in the goals.
EXPRESSED OPTIMISM
However,
most expressed optimism that the new set of 17 goals that are to be
adopted will tackle, among many other challenges, poverty in Kenya.
The 17 goals are supposed to dictate how development will be driven by member states in the next fifteen years.
Popularly
known as the Sustained Development Goals (SDGs), the ambitious new
targets are supposed to take over from the previously concluded eight
Millennium Development Goals that were formulated in 2000.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is arguably the biggest meeting of the 193 member states of the UN.
70TH MEETING
This is the 70th meeting since the conception of the UN.
While Nation
has not established just how many legislators are in New York for the
meeting, a source at the Kenyan mission in the US not authorised to
speak to the press said that "the large number of those who attended is
crucial because the success of the goals is dependent on the political
muscle that will be put in them ".
At the auditorium most of the legislators in attendance could be seen taking notes as Pope Francis delivered his speech.
Kenya played a major role in the formation of the SDGs.
Mr
Macharia Kamau co-chaired the working group that went through the
rigorous three-year process that involved managing complex diplomatic
relationships
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