Good governance, accountability must for SDGs: Prof. Wahiduddin

Eminent economist Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud on Saturday said good governance and accountability in public expenditure are a must for ensuring proper implementation of ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh.
“To ensure the results of the development goals, accountably should be ensured and country specific targets should be fixed,” he said adding that monitoring the results corresponding the budget allocation and midterm and long-term planning visions will also have to be ensured.Prof Wahiduddin, Chairman of the Panel of Economists for the 7th FYP and member, UN Committee for Development Policy was addressing a workshop at a local hotel.
General Economics Division (GED) in collaboration with the Support to Sustainable and Inclusive Planning (SSIP) Project is hosting the three-day inter-ministerial consultation workshop on integration of SDGs into the 7th Five Year Plan.
Senior Secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance, Mohammad Mejbahuddin spoke as the chief guest in the first day of the workshop, said a press release.
He said the government will increase social sector investment to ensure good governance and boost institutional capacity.
UNDP Country Director Pauline Tamesis said Bangladesh has started well and the GED was fully conscious of these global goals.
She also mentioned that SDGs’ implementation demands coherent and whole of the government approaches given its holistic, integrated and cross cutting areas of nutrition, social security issues, extreme poverty eradication programme , gender mainstreaming and empowerment, climate  and environment responsive development strategy and institutional strengthening. – News Desk