Genesis staffer highlights central role of trade in Africa's development
6 October 2017
Sibulele Walaza, assistant manager in the Business Development Unit at Genesis Analytics, has contributed a chapter to a book titled From MDGs to Sustainable Development Goals: The Travails of International Development, which was launched in September at the University of Pretoria.
The book focuses on development - questioning why poverty, underdevelopment and inequality have for so long remained obstacles to shared global prosperity. It covers 15 years from 2000, when the member states of the United Nations adopted the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to what the implications have been on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Scholars from various disciplines have contributed to the book.
The Millennium Declaration in 2000 committed the nations to a global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and set targets to meet the development goals. Fifteen years later, world governments renewed and strengthened the agenda by adopting 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015.
In her chapter, Walaza discusses Goal 8 of the MDGs - developing a global partnership for development. She highlights the centrality of global trade in fostering or hindering development efforts and building a global partnership for development, especially for Africa, which continues to play a marginal role in global trade. The chapter analyses the progress made on Goal 8 and highlights the challenges facing the continent in the context of the post-2015 development agenda.
The book was published by the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD), in association with Unisa, and was edited by Philani Mthembu and Siphamandla Zondi.