The National Association of Mozambique Municipalities (ANAMM) a non-partisan body that congregates all mayors in the country, has agreed that in its 2019 functions going beyond, there should be the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their local planning instruments including budgeting.

In a national capacity building seminar held in Maputo in mid-March 2019, all the mayors acknowledged that the SDGs are directly linked to municipal objectives and responsibilities, particularly those pertaining to basic services delivery.

This is the first capacity building seminar following their election into office in municipal polls held countrywide in October 2018. Therefore, with the start of a new cycle of autarchic governance, there was a need to hold the training and, more so, sessions on issues related to SDGs. These new elected bodies are essential actors for inclusive sustainable development in their territories, which requires the creation of responsibility, commitment and broad-based ownership.

The event is therefore timely, since ANAMM buying-in play a pivotal role in building commitments with municipalities for the domestication of the 2030 agenda. This includes support in SDGs advocacy and promotion by increasing knowledge and ownership with the support from the central Government as well as national and international partners.

ANAMM invited the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to participate in its March 18, session, dedicated to the SDGs, where 267 representatives of all the country's municipalities were present, including all the presidents of Councils and Municipal Assemblies, and members of the Municipal Assemblies.

UNDP made a presentation on budgeting for the eradication of poverty and reduction of inequalities, drawing attention to the importance of the role of local Government in improving the living conditions of the populations. It was in this perspective that the newly elected mayors got a more in-depth awareness of the 2030 Agenda as a framework for action and establishment of mechanisms that allow the involvement of all actors.

UNDP Senior Economic Advisor Ms. Glenda Gallardo, who made the presentation on UNDP’s behalf, also highlighted the importance of results-based budgets and the evaluation of the impacts of policies and programms to achieve more effective public policies in poverty eradication and inequality reduction.

In September 2015, members of the United Nations adopted a new global policy: the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, which aims to raise the world's development and improve the quality of life for all people. One of the lessons learned from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which target year was 2015, was that development goals could be achieved if ownership was also at the local level. This municipal capacity development seminar takes this into consideration.