UN Women supports MINDDEVEL Officials to take ownership of the 2030 development program for a better implementation of the SDGs at the local level

Thirty officials from the Ministry of Decentralization and Local Development (MINDDEVEL) took part in the capacity building workshop on the Sustainable Development Goals organized by UN Women from 16 to 18 October 2019. The main objective of the training was to provide MINDDEVEL staff at the central and decentralized level with the necessary skills to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in support of local development in Cameroon.

LOBE joseph, Inspector N°1 of the MINDDEVEL representing the Minister, highlighted in his opening speech that, given the importance of the 2030 agenda, the Ministry considered it appropriate, in view of the stakes and challenges facing decentralization and the front-line actors that are decentralized local authorities, to raise awareness and train the workers of decentralization and local development on the requirements and opportunities arising from that agenda.

During these two days, the various participants were trained on the stakes and challenges of the process of appropriation of sustainable development goals   in Cameroon, gender in the implementation of the SDGs in Cameroon, strategies to support decentralized territorial authorities in the implementation of the SDGs, the experience of the Feicom in the implementation of the SDGs, contextualization strategies for the SDGs at the municipalities level accompanied by group work on the identification of key actions to be implemented.

At the end of the workshop, participants expressed theirs satisfaction with the newly acquired skills. According to Mrs ONGOLO Lidwine, Head of the Planning and Local Development Division, "This seminar was a contribution to the Ministry in that it will enable us to contextualize sustainable development goals and provide technical support at the level of decentralized local authorities”.

According to M. MBUA ISAAC EMBOLA, Head of the Monitoring and Management Control Division, "this workshop allowed us to get to grips with the concept of SDGs and the importance of their implementation at the decentralized local authorities level. This will enable us to develop the Ministry's strategy for better performance at the level of the municipal and regional executives”.

Some of the keys resolutions at the end of the workshop, include: establishment of a monitoring and evaluation committee for the SDGs at the local level at MINDDEVEL; establishment of a statistical data information system on the implementation of the SDGs; the development of a strategy for capacity building of decentralized local authorities on the SDGs; the development of a strategy for the implementation of SDGs at the local level.