[{"bbox": [85, 153, 420, 180], "category": "Text", "text": "The programme has three key goals:"}, {"bbox": [123, 191, 1145, 246], "category": "List-item", "text": "* **Decarbonization:** Gradually reducing South Africa's dependence on coal and shifting toward renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and green hydrogen."}, {"bbox": [123, 255, 1145, 334], "category": "List-item", "text": "* **Job Creation and Skills Development:** Ensuring that job losses in the coal sector are mitigated through reskilling, upskilling, and creating new employment opportunities in renewable energy, manufacturing, and infrastructure."}, {"bbox": [123, 349, 1145, 404], "category": "List-item", "text": "* **Energy Security and Inclusivity:** Promoting an energy mix that ensures reliable and affordable energy access while addressing the historical energy inequalities in many marginalized communities."}, {"bbox": [85, 414, 1145, 494], "category": "Text", "text": "The JETP is a collaborative effort involving the South African government, Eskom, labour unions, business leaders, civil society organizations, and international partners. The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) facilitates dialogue and drives the JET framework forward."}, {"bbox": [85, 505, 243, 531], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## The Jobs Fund⁸"}, {"bbox": [85, 535, 1145, 642], "category": "Text", "text": "The Jobs Fund, launched in June 2011 with an initial budget of R9 billion, aims to co-finance projects with public, private, and non-governmental organizations to enhance job creation in South Africa. Its focus is on using public funds to catalyse innovation and investment, addressing unemployment by overcoming barriers to job creation related to labour demand, supply, and institutional challenges."}, {"bbox": [85, 657, 1145, 792], "category": "Text", "text": "The Jobs Fund complements these efforts rather than directly addressing structural causes of unemployment or replicating existing initiatives. It operates through four funding windows: Enterprise Development, Infrastructure Investment, Support for Work Seekers, and Institutional Capacity Building. These interventions encourage innovation, risk-taking, and the exploration of new approaches with a pro-poor focus on sustainable job creation and long-term employment opportunities."}, {"bbox": [85, 807, 588, 835], "category": "Text", "text": "The Jobs Fund operates on **challenge fund principles**."}, {"bbox": [85, 835, 1145, 914], "category": "Text", "text": "A key element of a challenge fund is that project selection and funding allocations are based on an open, competitive process (like the EU call for proposals) concerning pre-defined eligibility and impact criteria. These criteria are designed to maximise innovation, impact, and sustainability."}, {"bbox": [85, 930, 1145, 1011], "category": "Text", "text": "By selecting projects through a competitive process, public funding is channelled directly to the initiatives most likely to have an impact. Globally, challenge funds have emerged as effective and versatile financing mechanisms for channelling public money to catalyse innovation and investment in a way that benefits the poor."}, {"bbox": [85, 1025, 1145, 1131], "category": "Text", "text": "The Fund is managed directly by GTAC, the National Treasury's Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC). The Fund is governed by two committees: Investment (executive and fiduciary responsibility for the approval of the applications) and Technical Evaluation Committees (responsible for the technical assessment of the proposals and recommendations)."}, {"bbox": [85, 1149, 1145, 1227], "category": "Text", "text": "**In conclusion, the policy is sufficiently relevant and credible for budget support contract objectives to be largely achieved. Therefore, the policy can be supported by the Commission with the proposed budget support contract.**"}, {"bbox": [85, 1246, 375, 1272], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### 2.4.2 Macroeconomic Policy"}, {"bbox": [85, 1275, 1145, 1327], "category": "Text", "text": "The following chapter reflects the October 2024 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement ⁹ and the outcomes of the December 2024 EU-SA macroeconomic dialogue."}, {"bbox": [85, 1340, 1145, 1446], "category": "Text", "text": "The government's strategy aligns rapid economic growth with inclusivity (fair distribution of the growth benefits across all population segments and reduced inequality) and sustainability. Structural reforms are key, focusing on improving infrastructure (power shortages and inefficiencies in logistics), state capability and economic efficiency (costs of doing business)."}, {"bbox": [85, 1458, 1145, 1512], "category": "Text", "text": "On the global front, the global economy is projected to grow modestly at 3.2% in 2024 and 2025, with risks such as geopolitical instability and high sovereign debt levels posing challenges. Inflationary pressures are easing, enabling"}, {"bbox": [85, 1555, 981, 1579], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁷The International Partners Group (IPG): EU/EIB, UK, Denmark, The Netherlands, USA, France, Germany"}, {"bbox": [85, 1578, 210, 1599], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁸The Jobs Fund"}, {"bbox": [85, 1600, 413, 1622], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁹October 2024 MTBPS: National Treasury"}, {"bbox": [1038, 1682, 1145, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 9 of 29"}]