By Hon. Prof. Kariuki Muigua, OGW, PhD, C.Arb, FCIArb is a Professor of Environmental Law and Dispute Resolution at the University of Nairobi, Member of Permanent Court of Arbitration, Leading Environmental Law Scholar, Respected Sustainable Development Policy Advisor, Top Natural Resources Lawyer, Highly-Regarded Dispute Resolution Expert and Awardee of the Order of Grand Warrior (OGW) of Kenya by H.E. the President of Republic of Kenya. He is The African ADR Practitioner of the Year 2022, The African Arbitrator of the Year 2022, ADR Practitioner of the Year in Kenya 2021, CIArb (Kenya) Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 and ADR Publisher of the Year 2021 and Author of the Kenya’s First ESG Book: Embracing Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) tenets for Sustainable Development” (Glenwood, Nairobi, July 2023) and Kenya’s First Two Climate Change Law Book: Combating Climate Change for Sustainability (Glenwood, Nairobi, October 2023), Achieving Climate Justice for Development (Glenwood, Nairobi, October 2023) and Promoting Rule of Law for Sustainable Development (Glenwood, Nairobi, January 2024)*
In order to actualize Agenda 2063, the African Union adopted ten-year implementation plans with the First Ten Year Implementation Plan covering the period from 2013 to 2023. The First Ten Year Implementation Plan identified priority areas for actualizing Agenda 2063 including sustainable and inclusive economic growth, human capital development, agriculture/value addition and agrobusiness development, employment generation, social protection, gender equality and youth empowerment, good governance, infrastructural development, industrialization, science, technology and innovation, and peace and security.
It seeks to: identify priority areas, their associated targets and expected outcomes and indicative strategies to stakeholders; highlight the fast track programmes and projects that will bring quick wins and generate and sustain the interest of the African Citizenry in the African Agenda; assign responsibilities and accountabilities to all stakeholders in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the plan and outline the strategies required to ensure resource and capacity availability and sustained citizen’s engagement for plan execution.
According to the First Ten Year Implementation Plan, achievement of the set targets will transform Africa through improvements in living standards, transformed, inclusive and sustainable economies, regional and continental integration, empowered women, youth and children, and a well governed, peaceful and cultural centric Africa in a global context. It sets out the implementation, monitoring and evaluation responsibilities of key stakeholders including member states, regional economic communities and the African Union organs.
According to the First Continental Report on the Implementation of Agenda 2063, the continent has made some remarkable progress towards attaining the goals identified in Agenda 2063’s First Ten Year Implementation Plan. The report notes the progress made towards meeting the goals of Agenda 2063 within the SDGs framework in Africa.
Some notable progress towards this end includes improvement of the standard of living, quality of life and wellbeing as evidenced by increased electricity access, improvement in health services in some countries, enhanced access to safe drinking water, increased access to internet and reduction in unemployment rates in some countries. The report further notes improvement in the education sector through increased enrolment rates especially in basic education. However, the report also notes the slow progress made in attaining some of the goals of Agenda 2063 that have a bearing on the SDGs including job creation, food security, the blue economy, and environmentally sustainable climate resilient economies and communities.
The Second Continental Report on the Implementation of Agenda 2063 further lauds achievements made towards actualizing Agenda 2063 including implementation of the flagship projects under the Agenda and operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The report indicates that overall performance and implementation of Agenda 2063 stood at 51% compared to a score of 32% identified in the First Continental Report on the Implementation of Agenda 2063.
The report notes the progress made towards creating incomes, jobs and decent work; tackling poverty, inequality and hunger; enhancing access to basic quality services including the internet; promoting education, science, technology and innovation; enhancing health and nutrition; improving agriculture and food security; unlocking the blue/ocean economy; and achievement of environmentally sustainable and climate resilient economies and communities. It also acknowledges the slow progress made in realizing some of the goals of Agenda 2063 in some African countries as evidenced by cases of unemployment, poverty, inequality, food insecurity, the threat of climate change and inadequate access to education and health among other services. The report further acknowledges the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the realization of the goals of Agenda 2063 and the SDGs in Africa.
From the foregoing, it is evident that there has been mixed performance in actualizing the aspirations, goals and targets of Agenda 2063 as set out in the First Ten Year Implementation Plan. It has been noted that some African countries have made progress towards meeting some of the goals set out under Agenda 2063 through initiatives such as increase in the volume of intraAfrican trade, increase in access to electricity, increase in access to safe drinking water, improvements in standards of health and promotion of gender equality and youth empowerment. However, it has also been pointed out that Africa’s progress on the SDGs and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 aspirations has been uneven, with significant differences among sub-regions, countries, and rural and urban areas. Consequently, there are some pressing challenges facing the realization of Agenda 2063 and the SDGs in Africa.
*This is an extract from the Book: Promoting Rule of Law for Sustainable Development (Glenwood, Nairobi, January 2024) by Hon. Prof. Kariuki Muigua, OGW, PhD, Professor of Environmental Law and Dispute Resolution, Senior Advocate of Kenya, Chartered Arbitrator, Kenya’s ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021 (Nairobi Legal Awards), ADR Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 (CIArb Kenya), African Arbitrator of the Year 2022, Africa ADR Practitioner of the Year 2022, Member of National Environment Tribunal (NET) Emeritus (2017 to 2023) and Member of Permanent Court of Arbitration nominated by Republic of Kenya. Prof. Kariuki Muigua is a foremost Environmental Law and Natural Resources Lawyer and Scholar, Sustainable Development Advocate and Conflict Management Expert in Kenya. Prof. Kariuki Muigua teaches Environmental Law and Dispute resolution at the University of Nairobi School of Law, The Center for Advanced Studies in Environmental Law and Policy (CASELAP) and Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies. He has published numerous books and articles on Environmental Law, Environmental Justice Conflict Management, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Sustainable Development. Prof. Muigua is also a Chartered Arbitrator, an Accredited Mediator, the Managing Partner of Kariuki Muigua & Co. Advocates and Africa Trustee Emeritus of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators 2019-2022. Prof. Muigua is a 2023 recipient of President of the Republic of Kenya Order of Grand Warrior (OGW) Award for his service to the Nation as a Distinguished Expert, Academic and Scholar in Dispute Resolution and recognized among the top 5 leading lawyers and dispute resolution experts in Band 1 in Kenya by the Chambers Global Guide 2024 and was listed in the Inaugural THE LAWYER AFRICA Litigation Hall of Fame 2023 as one of the Top 50 Most Distinguished Litigation Lawyers in Kenya and the Top Arbitrator in Kenya in 2023.
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