Morris Mkwate in RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil
PRESIDENT Mugabe has called for the immediate restructuring of international eco­nomic and financial management systems to ensure they respond effectively to the needs of poor countries.

Addressing the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) which opened here yesterday, he said global finan­cial regulatory mechanisms should be refined to avoid human-induced world economic problems such as the 2008-2009 crisis, largely triggered by speculation.

The President said small nations were invariably failing to achieve development objectives owing to punitive economic meas­ures meted out against them by some devel­oped countries.
He said urgent steps must be taken to address the situation, which undermines the rule of law and could attract repercussions to the United Nations and global financial insti­tutions.

“The 2008 to 2009 economic and financial crises were spawned by activities that were not based on the real economy but on specu­lative practices.
“We need to strengthen global monitoring as well as regulatory and accountability mechanisms.

“It is unfortunate that despite its dire con­sequences, the financial crisis has not trig­gered the much-needed political commit­ment for the long-overdue reform of interna­tional financial structures.

“Regrettably, some quarters are down-playing the gravity of this issue and eroding the sensitive role it plays in the United Nations and international financial institu­tions.
“We call for the complete overhaul of the global economic and financial governance structures so that they are more responsive to the needs of poor states, particularly those that are more vulnerable.”

In an environment where there are inade­quate resources to meet development objec­tives, the President said, there are concerns that some powerful countries continue to implement punitive economic measures which curtail further the ability of small states.
“Such practices undermine confidence in multi-lateralism and the rule of law. Indeed, we are further concerned with the dark cloud, in the form of trade protection and other defence mechanisms, which are hover­ing over the global economy at a time when we are grappling with achieving the Millen­nium Development Goals (MDGs).”

The Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces said the world economic cri­sis resulted in the marginalisation of poor countries.

He said resources allocated to development assistance under the Millennium Develop­ment Goals programme had already been depleted, three years before the expiry of the  deadline for the attainment of the goals.
A new initiative to promote Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should not supersede efforts to meet MDGs, he added.

“It is our hope that the SDGs will not undermine the MDGs. We should, therefore, not lose sight of the need to achieve set tar­gets in the areas of, inter alia, poverty allevia­tion, education, combating HIV and Aids, gender mainstreaming as well as the health and welfare of mothers and children,” said President Mugabe.

“The implementation of Sustainable Development Goals requires an appropriate institutional mechanism to carry the agenda forward. We expect the United Nations, in light of its international character, to remain at the centre of these efforts.

“We do not believe that creating new insti­tutions is a panacea to implementation short­comings. Already, the Economic and Social Council provides an appropriate platform to follow up pillars of sustainable development.”

The President said Ecosoc ensured all states and other stakeholders collaborate on sustainable development.
He said the United Nations Environment Programme should be strengthened to better play its role as the lead environmental institu­tion.

In addition, he advocated sourcing “pre­dictable and sustainable resources” following indications developed countries, which vol­untarily committed to funding sustainable development efforts in developing nations, were dragging their feet.

“There should be no room for elitist and exclusive clubs in the field of sustainable development. We are after all in peril if we do not put our act together to save the environ­ment and, with it, our collective future,” Pres­ident Mugabe said.
“We should act in common concert for the common good. Let us not allow this conference to go into the history of gatherings that promised a lot and delivered little.

“Let the presence of more than 100 world leaders and their collective resolve be reflected through outcomes that will uplift the majority of humankind out of poverty.”