The United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has urged countries on the continent to embrace digital tools to foster greater transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness.
Mr Antonio Pedro, Deputy Executive-Secretary of ECA, in a statement on the commission’s website, said this would bolster national planning activities.
He made the call during the meeting on “Leveraging Digital Technologies for Integrated Planning to Advance the Dustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063 in Times of Multiple Crises”.
The reports that the event took place as a side event at the Tenth Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-10) in Addis-Ababa.
According to Pedro, while many countries do an excellent job of identifying their priorities through extensive stakeholders’ consultation, the number of identified priorities is often so numerous that implementation becomes a challenge.
He said to address this challenge, ECA developed the Integrated Planning and Reporting Tool (IPRT), a web-based tool designed to enhance the effectiveness of planning.
“The IPRT aims to strengthen planning systems by leveraging technology, allowing for the digital tracking of national, provincial, and sector plans.
“This is in alignment with annual budgets and international commitments such as SDGs and Agenda 2063,” he said.
Mr Bartholomew Armah, Chief of Development Planning in the Macroeconomics and Governance Division at ECA, highlighted the abilities of the tool.
Armah said it had the ability to facilitate integrated and coherent planning, addressing the issue of disconnected planning frameworks at various levels and ensuring alignment with global commitments.
“The IPRT represents a significant step forward in the integration of multiple development agendas into national development plans, offering harmonised approach to progress reporting,” he said.
Ms Annette Griessel, Deputy Director-General, National Planning Coordination, South African Department of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation (DPME), highlighted the transformative role of technology in redressing development disparities created by South Africa’s apartheid past.
Griessel restated the progress made in reforming the planning system and ensuring their alignment with the SDGs and Africa’s Agenda 2063.
According to her, the progress is seen as a cornerstone in building a capable developmental state.
IPRT has already been deployed in more than 30 countries with ongoing efforts to ensure its use by other countries on the continent.
It makes tracking of performance on the indicators of national development plan more user-friendly.
The e-meeting was organised by ECA’s Macroeconomics and Governance Division and the Office for Eastern Africa.