The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has urged Ghanaians to demonstrate greater commitment to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to accelerate the growth and development of the country.

“Giving the challenges of development that we must overcome, we all have collective obligations that the SDGs are achieved,” he told a meeting on the SDGs at the Manhyia palace.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu pointed out that as ambitious as the goals of the SDGs may seem, Ghanaians had a collective duty to achieve the desired results since the “goals presented Ghana with the greatest opportunity to transform itself to move from poverty to prosperity, hunger to abundance and from dependence to independence.”

The Royal Dialogue on the SDGs aimed at soliciting contributions and support from chiefs and other traditional leaders towards the accelerated implementation of the global blueprint to achieve the desired goals for the country.

The Asantehene said the country could not achieve its full potential if a greater number of the people lived in abject poverty – did not have food to feed on, suffered from diseases and had no access to quality education.

On his part as a traditional ruler, Otumfuo Osei Tutu, highlighted some of the projects he had embarked on to ensure that children lived up to their full potentials.

Through the setting up of the Otumfuo Charity Foundation, he had prioritized health, water and sanitation, education and culture, to give hope to section of Ghanaians towards the achievement of the SDGs.

The Asantehene mentioned that the key enablers to achieving this goal was through partnership since the government alone could not implement the actions.

“Traditional authorities therefore, have to take great interest in this agenda, as government seeks to integrate this agenda into local development plans. We must appraise ourselves with these plans and work with MMDAs to ensure its successful implementation,” he advised.

Madam Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, Chief of Staff at the Office of the President, said the government had shown greater commitment to the global goals and their implementation.

She said Ghana has taken up the SDG challenge and made great strides towards their implementation by establishing a high level ministerial committee as part of robust institutional structure.

The SDG implementation committee, which draws its membership from government, private sector and civil societies and the national technical committee, work under the operational leadership of the National Development Planning Commission in localizing the SDGs by integrating them into the national development agenda.

The Committee have also ensured that the national budgets were prepared in line with the SDGs and the resources aligned to the Goals’ priorities.

Mrs Osei-Opare mentioned that Ghana signed onto the nation review process and will be reporting on the progress made on the implementation of the SDGs to the global community in June 2019 at the United Nations (UN).