The call to action came during the meeting on "Leveraging Digital Technologies for Integrated Planning to Advance the SDGs and Agenda 2063 in Times of Multiple Crises," held on the sidelines of the tenth session of the African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-10).
Experts highlighted the importance of integrating digital technologies to improve national planning in Africa, especially in the context of the multiple challenges facing the region.
According to Antonio Pedro, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the multitude of priorities identified during stakeholder consultations often makes it challenging to implement development plans.
IPRT, an online platform for digital tracking of national plans
To address this situation, the ECA has developed the Integrated Planning and Reporting Tool (IPRT), an online platform that digitally tracks national, provincial, and sectoral plans aligned with annual budgets and international commitments such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063.
The IPRT facilitates integrated and coherent planning, thereby contributing to harmonizing development goals at the national and international levels. "The IPRT represents a significant advancement in integrating multiple development programs into national development plans, providing a harmonized approach to reporting on progress," explains Bartholomew Armah, Chief of Development Planning in the Macroeconomics and Governance Division of the ECA.
The Agenda 2063, "the cornerstone of building a capable developmental state”
"The integration of digital technologies into planning is essential to address the development disparities inherited from apartheid," adds Annette Griessel, Deputy Director-General of National Planning Coordination at the South African Ministry of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation (DPME). She notes progress in reforming the planning system, ensuring alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa's Agenda 2063, "which is considered the cornerstone of building a capable developmental state.
" The IPRT has already been deployed in over 30 countries, with ongoing efforts to ensure its use by other countries on the continent. It makes tracking performance on national development plan indicators more user-friendly.
The e-meeting was organized by the Macroeconomics and Governance Division of the ECA and the East Africa Office, underscoring the ECA's commitment to promoting the use of digital technologies for sustainable development in Africa.
