[{"bbox": [97, 153, 1134, 286], "category": "Text", "text": "The Action contributes to the Global Gateway, in particular supporting the creation of decent jobs and strengthening DRM and PFM¹⁹. In addition, it contributes to the EU policy to tackle inequalities in developing countries²⁰, support fiscal space expansion²¹ and strengthen socially owned social protection system²². The Action is in line with the EU Gender Action Plan III 2021-2025²³ that foresees (at least) one planned bilateral Action with Gender Equality as the principal objective."}, {"bbox": [84, 312, 339, 343], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.2 Problem Analysis"}, {"bbox": [97, 359, 317, 386], "category": "Text", "text": "**Short problem analysis:**"}, {"bbox": [97, 397, 1134, 554], "category": "Text", "text": "Informality hampers the State's ability to mobilise domestic revenues, limiting its capacity to deliver public services, to provide social protection to its citizens and promote, protect and fulfil people's human rights. In turn, informal operators (workers and firms) are extremely vulnerable and, in the absence of a decent job, they are more exposed to slide into poverty and are excluded from public services, social protection, financial inclusion and basic human rights. In addition, productivity remains low, given the informal operators' lack of access to finance and credit."}, {"bbox": [97, 569, 1134, 782], "category": "Text", "text": "The gender divide in the informality realm is significant: 89% of Angolan women, against 71% of men, work in the informal economy. The absence of decent work and workers' rights have a major negative impact in women, most of them in reproductive age²⁴. For young people, the informal economy is the main entry to the labour market, and the informality rates among young people are higher than in any other age group. The lack of social protection has an impact on health and social stability. Most women in the informal sectors are in the retailing sector, selling on the streets or in markets where poor hygienic and health conditions lead to health hazards. Women constitute also the vast majority of informal domestic workers with, again, no social or health protection. Maternal and child mortality in Angola is among the highest in the world."}, {"bbox": [97, 794, 1134, 928], "category": "Text", "text": "Informal economic actors account for 75% of the workforce and generate close to 65% of the country's wealth not yet reflected in the country's GDP. In 2020, the Government launched the ambitious Informal Economy Reconversion Programme (PREI, *Programa de Reconversão da Economia Informal*), which had an initial focus on the informal markets in the Luanda province. Rapidly, its aspiration has been to be a country-wide programme with a medium-term objective of becoming a service, rather than a programme."}, {"bbox": [97, 939, 1134, 1126], "category": "Text", "text": "The PREI, anchored in the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP), has gained the highest position in the Government's political agenda. Yet, the sustainability of the formalisation in the long run and its ability to maintain the gains will depend on the incentives for workers and firms to stay formalised. The PREI's database reflects a relative success of the programme in achieving a rapid 'fast-tracked' formalisation of economic operators²⁵, with 225,520 operators formalised as of 7 July 2022. However, the operators registered for social security are significantly less (23 859 registered in INSS) and the same is for those who have obtained micro-credits (36 074 beneficiaries). Adherence to INSS is going to be considered a critical step in the formalisation process."}, {"bbox": [97, 1137, 1134, 1244], "category": "Text", "text": "Based on regular and solid policy dialogue, the EU has accompanied the implementation of PREI through a Budget Support Operation (State and Resilience Building Contract) Pilot Phase since 2020. The achievements under the Budget Support confirm the policy credibility. Yet, two main challenges remain and they are crucial for the viability of the PREI:"}, {"bbox": [136, 1256, 1134, 1309], "category": "List-item", "text": "1. Scale up the programme (75% of the workforce means that around 8 million people work in the informality realm)."}, {"bbox": [87, 1428, 691, 1450], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹⁹ Joint Communication: The Global Gateway JOIN(2021) 30 final of 1.12.2021."}, {"bbox": [86, 1450, 1143, 1494], "category": "Footnote", "text": "²⁰ Commission Staff Working Document on Implementation of the new European Consensus on Development – Addressing inequality in partner countries SWD(2019) 280 final of 14.6.2019."}, {"bbox": [86, 1494, 1143, 1536], "category": "Footnote", "text": "²¹ Commission Staff Working Document “Collect more – spend better: achieving development in an inclusive and sustainable way”, SWD (2015) 198 final of 15.10.2015."}, {"bbox": [86, 1536, 1117, 1559], "category": "Footnote", "text": "²² Commission Communication on “Social Protection in European Union Development Cooperation”, COM(2012)446 final of 20.8.2012."}, {"bbox": [86, 1559, 624, 1581], "category": "Footnote", "text": "²³ Gender Action Plan III – a priority of EU external action (europa.eu)."}, {"bbox": [86, 1580, 920, 1603], "category": "Footnote", "text": "²⁴ They do not receive any subsidy and thus, are obliged to work during pregnancy, maternity, or breastfeeding."}, {"bbox": [86, 1603, 1143, 1646], "category": "Footnote", "text": "²⁵ In the framework of PREI, ‘formalisation’ will be achieved after concluding the following three steps: 1) getting the identity card; 2) municipal registration as stallholders; and 3) fiscal identification number at the AGT, which allows for access to micro-credits."}, {"bbox": [1038, 1681, 1143, 1705], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 7 of 33"}]