Khulekani Mathe‘s involvement as speaker at the #EndPovertyDay towards the end of October 2023, formed part of an interactive conversation with leading development practitioners, civil society, the private sector and academia on ways to advance the empowerment of people out of poverty through quality and sustainable jobs to ensure no one is left behind.
“My speech focused on encouraging companies in the private sector to participate in the Voluntary National Review (VNR) undertaken by the Global Compact South Africa,” explained Khulekani. “The VNR is an initiative to take stock of what the private sector is doing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In the speech, I pointed out that many companies are doing a lot towards achieving SDGs and that they need to participate in this initiative to make their efforts visible. The development challenges facing South Africa and other nations are not the responsibilities of government alone, the SDGs provide a common platform for all sectors of society to play their part.”
At the COP World Climate Action Summit recently in Dubai, Khulekani had to follow how the outcomes of the negotiations affect the private sector, and the role that private companies are expected to play in the agenda to achieve the Net – Zero emissions by 2050.
“I attended COP 28 as part of the International Organisations of Employers (IOE) which has observer status in the proceedings. Being at COP28 and following the negotiations closely is important for ensuring that the private sector is not saddled with responsibilities they cannot fulfil and that as a representative of the private sector, we can advise our members of what they are required to do. More importantly, there is general acceptance that achieving the ambition of Net-Zero emissions by 2020 requires all parties to play a part.
Khulekani found it contradictary that the Conference of Parties (COP) on Climate Change took place in a region that is the largest producer and exporter of oil – a fossil fuel that accounts for one of the largest share of emmissions. However, he said it was widely repeated that “COP 28 is the largest Conference of Parties by the number of participants and the most inclusive judged by the diversity of sectors represented.”
Khulekani said it was not yet clear how much progress had been made at this COP, as the official report would have been published in a week from ALI’s interview with him, “but early indications are that it will be a mixed bag.”
