By Teboho Serutla
The Prime Minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro says it is incumbent on global political and business leadership to re-invest in sustainable and inclusive recovery strategies to accelerate progress towards the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda, which is now only a short nine years away.
Addressing the UN Special Segment of the 2021 Forum on Financing for Development Follow-up on Tuesday, Majoro pointed out that the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on countries’ socio-economic balance sheets is of an unprecedented magnitude, as it has slowed down economic growth, depleted personal savings, disrupted daily livelihood pursuits, raised national debt levels, and increased costs of health care, among others.
“At the global level, the pandemic has reversed the gains made on sustainable development goals. The discovery of Covid-19 vaccines has given hope across the globe that the coronavirus can be defeated, and that normalcy can be restored to our economies.
“However, fears by many that inequities would undermine accessibility to vaccines, hence the establishment of the COVAX initiative, have now come to pass. Several wealthy countries and regions have rushed to secure vaccines for themselves, while a more equitable distribution based on the principle of inclusivity would have contributed far more to an expedited recovery in the world economy.”
“Lesotho would therefore like to encourage all international creditors; both commercial and private, to take bolder action to suspend debt repayments, apply debt cancellation and moratoria and provide additional resources for supporting economic growth.”
