The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says it’s high time the G20 countries live up to their commitment to providing an agreed percentage of gross income to least developed countries for the LDCs’ development.
Guterres made the remarks in Doha during the 50th commemoration of the LDCs grouping establishment. He said at the moment the United Nations has petitioned the G20 to form a development fund that developing nations should tap from to fund development in their respective countries.
It is common knowledge that least developed countries struggle with the rising cost of living and climate change while the developed nations continue to pollute the world with industrial activities according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The UN chief said it hasn’t been easy for LDCs to sail through to prosperity over the years as global financial systems are sending vulnerable countries to the sidelines. He said the interest rates LDCs pay are eight times higher than in developed countries.
In his remarks, Malawi President Dr Lazarus Chakwera said countries need to embrace what the Doha Plan of Action entails and ensure that the momentum is maintained for sustainability.
The LDC group was launched in 1971 and had 25 countries; the highest number of LDC was in 1991 with 50 countries. For the next decade of the Doha Programme of Action, 16 countries are showing signs of inching towards graduation to middle-income economies.
Reported by Eunice Ndhlovu, MBC Online Services, Doha, Qatar.
