Kenyan among UN panel to chart post-MDG vision

Betty Maina, chief executive of Kenya Association of Manufacturers will join 25 distinguished personalities to chart new path for global growth after expiry of Millennium Development Goals.

The panel was appointed Tuesday by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to advise the global body on global development beyond 2015, the targeted end date for Millennium Development Goals.

“I have asked my High-level Panel to prepare a bold yet practical development vision to present to Member States next year,” Mr Ban said in a statement.

“I look forward to the Panel’s recommendations on a global post-2015 agenda with shared responsibilities for all countries and with the fight against poverty and sustainable development at its core,” read the statement from the United Nations.

Indonesia’s Presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono , Liberia colleague Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and UK Prime Minister David Cameron will serve as three co-Chairs of the pannel

The Panel, Mr Ban said, would hold its first meeting at the end of September on the sidelines of UN General Assembly’s annual high-level debate and submit a report to him in the first half of 2013.

“Member States have called for open, inclusive consultations involving civil society, the private sector, academia and research institutions from all regions, in addition to the United Nations system, to advance the development agenda beyond 2015.” Mr Ban’s statement added.

The Panel’s work, he added, would be closely coordinated with that of the intergovernmental working group tasked to design Sustainable Development Goals, as agreed at the Rio+20 Conference.

The reports of both groups will be submitted to Member States for their further deliberations, Mr Ban said.

The appointment comes amid complaints that African Countries - riddled with political violence and drought - has been sliding deeper into poverty the reverse journey of MDGs.

“I believe that working with stakeholders in Kenya and beyond we will come up with a broad vision that can be presented to member states next year. Above all it is humbling to note that Kenya would have also added its voice to the decision making on the international scene,” added Ms Maina.

Apart from Mrs Maina, other members of the Panel include: Fulbert Gero Amoussouga (Benin), Vanessa Petrelli Corrêa (Brazil), Yingfan Wang (China), Maria Angela Holguin (Colombia), Gisela Alonso (Cuba)

Jean-Michel Severino (France), Horst Kohler (Germany), Naoto Kan (Japan), H.M. Queen Rania of Jordan (Jordan), Abhijit Banerjee (India), Andris Piebalgs (Latvia), Patricia Espinosa (Mexico)

Paul Polman (Netherlands), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Nigeria), Elvira Nabiullina (Russian Federation), Graça Machel (South Africa), Sung-Hwan Kim (Republic of Korea), Gunilla Carlsson (Sweden), Emilia Pires (Timor-Leste), Kadir Topbaş (Turkey), John Podesta (United States of America), Tawakel Karman (Yemen), Amina J. Mohammed (ex officio).