The Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship, Mr Lefu Manyokole says in 2015 Sustainable Development Goals were set to be archived by 2030 while in 2016 the New Urban Agenda was born and implemented to transform the cities and human settlements by 2036.

He said this when officially opening a validation workshop on data for localization of UMF indicators on Tuesday.

He stressed that the Maseru City local plan is central for archiving these plans, saying government ministries, development partners, governing bodies, legal and regulatory intuitions, academia and communities are key enablers towards archiving the SDGs and advancing the New Urban Agenda.

Mr. Manyokole, therefore, urged institutions to constantly provide means to support governance, management and support systems to actualize our SDGs priority goals.

He said the key priority is improving the coherence of links between the evidence-based and priority areas targeted by national development plans.

He expressed hope that this process will reveal gaps, trends, challenges and innovations required to strengthen data monitoring systems which are very important for the localization of the SDG indicators for the Maseru City New Urban Agenda.

Also speaking, the Town Clark of the Maseru City Council, Mr. Selete Molete expressed gratitude to everyone who gathered to make the workshop a success.

He said there is a lot of work needed to be done hence a collaborative effort is essential to enhance the process.

He pleaded with all relevant stakeholders to work hard to develop Maseru City, saying a well-developed city attracts investors.

The Housing Department Officer, Mrs. Mamorapeli Bookholane said Sustainable Urban Development for Social inclusion and ending poverty aligns with SDG 11.

She noted that it is aimed at promoting participation and civic engagement to forge a sense of belonging and ownership among inhabitants and enhance social and intergenerational interaction and foster social cohesion.

Speaking of the principles of the New Urban Agenda, she said are inclusivity-leave no one behind, and planning must be age-responsive and gender responsive.

She said the key elements for the new urban agenda are sustainability and inclusion of urban prosperity and opportunities for all, building the urban governance structure and sustainable urban development for social inclusion and ending poverty.

The workshop is expected to end on Thursday.

By Staff Reporter ‘Maphoka Likotsi