Domestication of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in South Africa

Abstract

ABSTRACT The domestication of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been progressing in various countries across the world. Five years into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that embraces 17 inseparable SDGs, this study documents how South Africa has been domesticating the SDGs. The study uses a mixed-method approach that includes a survey and interviews as well as critical discourse and document analysis. It emerges that South Africa has taken reasonable steps to domesticate and implement the SDGs with the hope of meeting many of the targets in 2030. The study demonstrates that there are SDG-aligned initiatives based on the National Development Plan (NDP) Vision 2030, some of which were in existence prior to the 2030 Agenda. The intersection between the NDP Vision 2030 and the SDGs saw South Africa continuing with many existing initiatives while seeking to enhance alignment of those initiatives with the 2030 Agenda. At the same time, the study also reveals that South Africa has put in place institutional mechanisms to implement the SDGs, although these have taken longer than planned to be finalised. Even now, there remains uncertainty regarding separate funding for the SDGs, as currently funding is provided mainly through the NDP Vision 2030 government programming. This article recommends continued alignment and further domestication of the SDGs, especially at the provincial and local government levels.