The Brikama Area Council (BAC) director of planning and development, Adama Bojang has addressed a session in a regional workshop for African voluntary national reviews (VNR) and voluntary local reviews (VLR) in Niamey, Niger, as a panelist.
Organized on the theme: Strengthening integration and reporting on the 2030 agenda and agenda 2063, the African regional forum is hosted as part of the ninth session of the African regional forum on sustainable development (ARFSD-9).
Madam Bojang who is also the focal point for Brikama Area Council, one of the three councils piloting the implementation of voluntary local review in The Gambia, commended the UNDESA, UN resident coordinator’s office in The Gambia and the Gambia association of regional government authorities (GALGA) for their financial and technical support.
She also highlighted some challenges that are limiting the progress of localising the global goals 2030 and agenda 2063, at country level.
Madam Bojang highlighted low awareness at regional and local levels, inadequate resources for identified activities in the VLR Gambia roadmap, inadequate coordination and harmonization of programmes and policies and limited capacity for monitoring, data collection and management as part of the most pressing challenges.
She outlined the significance of awareness creation at local and regional levels on the agenda 2030 and agenda 2063 and encouraged the prioritisation of city-to-city peer learning, adding that councils in the Gambia should establish effective systems for monitoring and periodic reporting on SDGs and agenda 2063.
