The Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs wishes the South African delegation, led by President Jacob Zuma, well for the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) which starting this week.
The Committee is particularly interested in this year’s UNGA’s debate which is the approaching 2015 deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the proposed 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) post the expiry of the MDGs next year.
The Committee recently held public hearings in three provinces on the proposed Sustainable Developmental Goals to seek a broad participation of South Africans, particularly the marginalised at the grassroots level, to guarantee that their voices are listened to and their needs seriously addressed in current debates leading to the adoption of a post-2015 development pathway.
The Committee is very pleased that the delegation, led by President Jacob Zuma, is emboldened by the support and approval of over 4000 South Africans, of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals as articulated in the zero draft document of the United Nations.
These over 4000 members of the South African public fully endorsed the Sustainable Development Goals during our public hearings in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and North West provinces, as a befitting carry-over of the world’s development agenda. South Africans were even more pleased with the over arching theme of the Sustainable Development Goals, which is the eradication of poverty all over the world.
President Jacob Zuma and his delegation have a resounding mandate from South Africans to the Sustainable Development Goals discussion in the United Nations General Assembly.
The Committee therefore wishes President Zuma and the South African delegation well as they participate in the deliberations of the United Nations General Assembly this week.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairpersons, please contact:
Ms Faith Kwaza
Parliamentary Communication Services
Tel: 021 403 8062
Cell: 072 122 0371
E-mail: fkwaza@parliament.gov.za
