The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa has urged African countries to embrace digital tools to foster greater transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Antonio Pedro, ECA deputy executive secretary, stated this during a meeting on ‘Leveraging Digital Technologies for Integrated Planning to Advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063 in Times of Multiple Crises’.

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.

Mr Pedro said 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 challenging.

To address this challenge, ECA, he said, developed the Integrated Planning and Reporting Tool (IPRT), a web-based tool designed to enhance planning effectiveness.

“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.

Bartholomew Armah, chief of development planning in the Macroeconomics and Governance Division at ECA, highlighted the tools’ abilities.

Mr Armah said it could facilitate integrated and coherent planning, address disconnected planning frameworks at various levels, and ensure alignment with global commitments.

Annette Griessel, deputy director-general of the 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.

Ms 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, progress is a cornerstone in building a capable developmental state.

The IPRT has already been deployed in more than 30 countries, and efforts are ongoing to ensure its use by other countries on the continent.

It makes tracking of performance on the indicators of national development plans more user-friendly.

The e-meeting was organised by ECA’s Macroeconomics and Governance Division and the Office for Eastern Africa.

(NAN)