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Bishow Parajuli Correspondent

The signing ceremony of the 2016-2020 Zimbabwe United Nations Assistance Framework (ZUNDAF) took place last week.

I would like to express our appreciation and gratitude to the Government of Zimbabwe for its commitment at the highest levels in the roll-out of this ZUNDAF.

The development of the ZUNDAF was jointly led by the Government and the UN Country Team with active participation of a wide range of stakeholders, ensuring national ownership, partnership and inclusiveness throughout the process.

I wish to acknowledge the admirable engagement of the diplomatic community, international development cooperation agencies, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, and international financial institutions and my colleagues within the UN for their support.

This engagement has immensely contributed to determining how best the UN system can work together to support the Government to achieve its development priorities and to meet its international commitments.

Last but not least, please also allow me to highlight the commitment of our UN agencies and their representatives in Zimbabwe and beyond.

The UN system continues to demonstrate its ability to work as a coherent team under the aegis and spirit of Delivering as One.

In fact, the ZUNDAF was signed by a total of 25 UN entities.
This will allow us to draw on the full range of UN expertise, and to together commit to delivering sustainable development results together.

The ZUNDAF provides us with a common platform describing the collective vision and response of the UN system in Zimbabwe, and a common platform for action and results, onto which all members of the UN family can coherently support national development priorities, complementing national efforts at tackling major challenges.

Moreover, the ZUNDAF will allow us to continue to promote the application and implementation of internationally agreed standards in Zimbabwe.

And, the ZUNDAF provides a robust platform to follow through on the unfinished business of the MDGs, while supporting Zimbabwe to embrace and work towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The national dialogue on the SDGs held last week demonstrates Zimbabwe’s commitment to localising this global agenda.

And, the ZUNDAF will offer added avenues to work towards those goals.

The ZUNDAF will therefore support results through six overarching national priority areas, being:
•      Food and Nutrition Security
•      Gender Equality
•      HIV and AIDS
•      Poverty Reduction and Value Addition
•      Public Administration and Governance
•      Social Services and Protection

I firmly believe that we now move ahead on robust foundations.

Our collective action is informed by the successes and lessons from the 2012-2015 ZUNDAF, where commendable development results have been supported.

Through the 2016-2020 ZUNDAF, we have the collective partnership to sustain, enhance and replicate the admirable progress made in certain sectors over the past few years, while promoting partnerships for improved development cooperation and effectiveness in a united front.

On these results, we must highlight the very generous engagement of the development cooperation community in Zimbabwe, where the 2012-2015 ZUNDAF saw an average delivery of approximately $400 million annually to support the achievement of development results.

As such, from 2012 to the end of 2015, the UN will have delivered approximately $1.6 billion on programme results.
This is an important contribution on the part of development partners, which we must aim to sustain and enhance for the 2016-2020 ZUNDAF, which is also budgeted at USD 1.6 billion.

ODA has played a critical role in Zimbabwe’s recovery and will continue to do so in the coming years.
As such, as the United Nations, we will work to support continued and improved partnerships so that these gains can be sustained and challenges addressed.

The ZUNDAF offers opportunities to strengthen partnerships, linkages and programming, including those with other major development frameworks, and all UN Agencies in Zimbabwe stand ready to work through it in support of strengthening partnerships and leveraging the required resources for transformative results.
Going forward, how will we implement the ZUNDAF?

ZUNDAF Results Groups are aligned to the Zim Asset architecture, rallying behind nationally-led systems and structures to support national ownership and the reduce transaction costs.
In fact, this is a guiding principle behind ZUNDAF implementation.

Therefore, establishment and efficiency of a well-functioning development coordination architecture, anchored on Zim Asset is fundamental to the achievement of meaningful results.

It is also therefore, important to have well run and effective Zim Asset clusters.

In moving forward, the onus is on all of us to ensure that the implementation of the 2016-2020 ZUNDAF has a sustainable impact in improving the lives of those who need it most.

As we have seen at the Zimbabwe National Dialogue on the SDGs held recently, national development priorities and international development goals are consistent.
And, the ZUNDAF we signed last week recognises that, offering us a solid platform to contribute to ending poverty, transform people’s lives, and protecting the environment.

•      Bishow Parajuli is the UN Resident Coordinator in Zimbabwe