MLG team on the ground collecting land data at sector offices using Ubutaka App, the paperless land transfer system, in Rwanda this last week
The Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa (SDGCA) in Kigali has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Medici Land Governance (MLG) that will help in developing practical applications and ways of measuring the impact of five selected Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).
MLG, is a not-for-profit international organization that provides software development and services related to land titling and government services.
In Rwanda, MLG is implementing a recently launched paperless land transaction system, Ubutaka App, an efficient platform service which also assures protection of security of identity for citizens.
It also facilitates cost-effective service delivery by the government.
Among the SDGs most relevant to the work MLG and SDGCA will conduct include: SDG 5: Achieving gender equality and empower all women and girls; SDG 10: Reducing inequality within and among countries and SDG 11: Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
The others are SDG 15: Protecting, restoring, and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss; and SDG 17: Strengthening the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.
During the signing held in Kigali on November 2, Caroline Makasa, Acting Director General of The SDGCA said the partnership will build on MLG efforts in achieving successful land management and encourage breaking with institutional traditions that have separated development, agriculture, forestry, environment, and land reform as separate domains.
“This is an opportunity to enable the ideal multi-functional conditions of governance, gender synergies, secured land tenure, investment, and economic markets. Together with MLG, we can demonstrate practical applications and ways of measuring the impact of SDGs,” Makasa said.
Dr. Ali El Husseini, CEO of MLG said both institutions share objectives promoting gender equality and empowerment, reducing inequalities within and among countries, making inclusive cities and human settlements, protecting and restoring the environment, and strengthening partnership.
Husseini stated that with MLG experience in data collection and committed investment on the continent, together with SDGCA, they can properly, realistically and accurately enjoy benefits including seeking out additional channels and avenues for financing and collaboration.
“These SDGs are intended to be concrete, measurable and results focused,” Dr. Ali El Husseini, CEO of MLG, says, “With The SDGCA, MLG will develop a detailed collaborative framework that also is agile and flexible enough to addressing and incorporating new issues of environment and sustainability every six months or as they emerge.”
MLG team at ongoing Africa Land Policy conference in Kigali
Besides Rwanda, MLG is in Zambia is providing systematic land titling, land administration and payment software to enable the issuance of 4 million Certificates of Titles (COTs) on state land over a period of seven years — the largest systematic land titling project ever embarked upon in the nation.
In Liberia, MLG’s efforts are directed toward formally recognizing and recording the rights of Liberian landowners.
To ensure that SDGs are tracked and reported, SDGCA compiled and harmonized indicator data points for both UN SDG Agenda 2030 and African Union Agenda 2063 goals.
It mapped data elements to ease concurrent data entry for both Agendas in The SDGCA Data Portal and Monitoring and Reporting System.
In a bid to expand its work with African countries, the SDGCA has signed Host Country Agreements with the Republics of Rwanda, Zambia and Liberia; and more are planned to be signed in near future to establish sub regional offices.
