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The document introduces a conceptual framework for evaluating gender equity and sustainable livelihoods in renewable energy value chains (REVCs). Using a social reproduction lens, it moves beyond simple employment metrics to examine the interplay between paid and unpaid labour, care responsibilities, and structural inequalities. The framework is structured around three dimensions: the global distribution of value, work and livelihoods, and ecological justice. It is intended as an assessment tool for policymakers and researchers to ensure that the transition to net zero emissions does not reproduce existing patterns of dependence or inequality, with illustrative applications mentioned for South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana.

The document evaluates South Africa's energy transition, arguing that while legal frameworks for renewable investment are expanding, they fail to guarantee structural socio-economic transformation. It identifies critical gaps in industrial policy, where localisation remains fragile due to inconsistent enforcement and import reliance, and in labour policy, where renewable energy jobs are often short-term and lack stability. The report concludes that a just transition requires integrating energy reform with industrial strategy, municipal governance, and labour market policies to avoid 'low-carbon poverty'.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) calls for a radical shift in South Africa's fiscal policy for Budget 2026, arguing that current priorities of debt stabilization and primary surpluses fail to address mass unemployment and poverty. The briefing proposes a 'full employment agenda' driven by progressive taxation, the mobilization of public assets like the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), and a significant increase in public investment in infrastructure and social services. Key recommendations include implementing a universal basic income grant, adopting a dual policy rate regime via the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to lower capital costs for development, and pursuing climate-responsive green industrialization. The IEJ warns that without such transformative changes, the economy will not absorb the growing labour force, leaving unemployment rates above 40%.

The Ghana Renewable Energy Policy Scan finds that while Ghana has comprehensive energy policies and ambitions for renewable energy deployment, there is a lack of coordination across sectors. Key gaps include the fragmentation of SMME policies, limited access to finance, and a failure to operationalise decent work and gender inclusion principles within renewable energy production networks.

The framework examines the potential for renewable energy industrialisation to advance a just energy transition by focusing on localisation strategies and the link between economic and social upgrading. It employs a Global Production Networks (GPN) perspective, integrated with Marxist, feminist, and ecological political economy, to analyse value creation and power relations. To operationalise these theories, the project uses an assessment matrix to evaluate employment quality, ownership patterns, and capability development in local firms.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) warns that modest GDP growth and improvements in network industries (energy, freight, and ports) in 2025 must be used as a springboard for structural transformation rather than a reason for complacency. Despite a projected 1.2% GDP expansion in 2025, unemployment remains critical at 31.9% (narrow) and 42.4% (expanded), while poverty affects 66.7% of the population. The IEJ argues that growth in finance and commodities does not create sufficient jobs and calls for a developmental macroeconomic framework. This includes a dual policy rate regime from the South African Reserve Bank, increased public investment in infrastructure and social services, and the implementation of a net wealth tax to fund these initiatives.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues that the South African President's State of the Nation Address (SONA) acknowledges systemic challenges like hunger and unemployment but fails to provide the necessary developmental state interventions to solve them. The IEJ criticizes the shift toward a 'regulatory, competitive, and derisking state' that relies on private sector investment and 'trickle down' effects, asserting that such an approach cannot achieve the structural transformation or mass job creation required. The IEJ calls for increased public investment in sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture, the urgent transformation of the Social Relief of Distress grant into basic income support, and engagement with global development experts to shift the country's economic trajectory.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) asserts that while South Africa saw modest GDP growth of 1.2% in 2025 and improvements in energy and logistics, these gains have not reduced high unemployment, poverty, or food insecurity. The IEJ calls for a shift from market-centric policies to a developmental macroeconomic framework that prioritizes industrial policy, progressive taxation, and expanded social security to achieve inclusive growth.

The document advocates for the introduction of wealth taxes in South Africa to combat inequality and fund socioeconomic rights. It challenges the notion that wealth taxes harm growth, arguing instead that redirecting wealth toward public spending can stimulate demand and investment. The brief recommends a combination of Financial Transaction Taxes (FTTs), increased dividend taxes, and a progressive net wealth tax, citing successful international examples from countries like France, Argentina, and Colombia.

The document argues that Universal Basic Income (UBI) in South Africa is a matter of justice rather than charity, asserting that it would unlock economic potential and provide a fairer social contract. It contends that UBI is more cost-effective and inclusive than targeted systems, which often suffer from high exclusion errors. The text suggests a UBI could start at the national food-poverty line of R796 per month or the food poverty line of R1 634 per month, with the latter having a gross cost of approximately R342 billion, though the net cost would be lower after tax returns and economic growth.

The paper examines the 'care crisis' in Africa, where unpaid care work—primarily performed by women—is economically invisible and underfunded due to debt burdens and austerity. It proposes a shift toward 'feminist fiscal justice' by adopting progressive taxation, wealth taxes, and integrated care systems, drawing on successful models from Uruguay, Colombia, and Costa Rica.

The document argues that wealth taxation is an appropriate tool for redistribution in South Africa due to extreme inequality, where the richest 0.01% owned 15% of wealth in 2017. It examines three primary instruments: Financial Transaction Taxes (FTTs), dividend taxes, and net wealth taxes. International evidence from France shows that increasing dividend taxes from 15.5% to 46% led to a 15% increase in investment. Net wealth taxes in countries like Argentina, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, and Colombia have raised between 0.2% and 1.5% of GDP. The brief highlights administrative challenges for the South African Revenue Service (SARS) but notes the existence of a High Wealth Individual Unit as evidence of feasibility. It recommends a combination of moderate net wealth taxes, increased dividend taxes, and the introduction of an FTT, supported by tighter capital controls and international cooperation via the UN Framework Convention on International Taxation and Cooperation.

The IEJ welcomes the G20 South Africa Summit's Leaders' Declaration as a diplomatic achievement but notes that the consensus-based process resulted in a 'lowest common denominator' outcome. While the IEJ acknowledges the mainstreaming of issues like critical minerals and sustainable industrial policy, it argues the declaration falls short on urgent priorities including climate finance, debt sustainability, and gender equality. The IEJ emphasizes that the success of the presidency depends on translating these commitments into tangible improvements for the African continent.

The IEJ argues that South Africa's 2025 MTBPS prioritises debt stabilisation over growth and social welfare, leading to 'indiscriminate and harmful cuts to spending' in health and education. The document criticises the reduction of the inflation target to 3%, the continued austerity in non-interest spending, and the reliance on private sector 'de-risking' and privatisation. It further highlights the precarious future of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant and the failure to address structural unemployment through activist fiscal policies.

The G20 is characterized as an effective platform for macroeconomic crisis response that consistently fails to address systemic inequities, debt burdens, and environmental degradation. While the forum represents 85% of global GDP, its legitimacy is contested due to the dominance of G7 members and the fact that G20 members provided $1.4tn in explicit fossil-fuel support in 2022. The report notes that recent Global South presidencies (Indonesia, India, Brazil, and South Africa) have shifted priorities toward energy transition financing, digital public infrastructure, taxation of the super-rich, and care economies. The author recommends that the G20 redefine 'crisis' to include human and planetary security and integrate justice metrics into its coordination efforts.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues that Africa is disproportionately burdened by global inequality, noting that 57% of Africans live in countries spending more on debt servicing than on healthcare or education. In the context of South Africa's G20 presidency, the IEJ demands five urgent reforms: ending exploitative debt systems, establishing a UN-led global tax convention, investing in food buffer stocks and universal social floors, ensuring a just energy transition for the Global South, and reducing unpaid care work for women.

The UBIC opposes government proposals to link the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant to employment, arguing that such conditions are ineffective in a context of structural unemployment and serve as a tactic to reduce social spending. The statement calls for the grant, which is due to expire in March 2026, to be extended and transformed into an unconditional, expansive basic income to address poverty.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) reports that the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group (EWWG), under South Africa's Presidency, failed to achieve a joint Ministerial Declaration due to a lack of consensus. Despite the majority of the 18 member states present agreeing, one country blocked the text by objecting to terms such as 'gender' and 'unpaid care', requesting 'sex-based' terminology instead. This impasse resulted in the issuance of a Chair's Statement rather than a formal declaration. The IEJ highlights that this failure occurs amidst systemic global barriers, including the fact that women perform 76.2% of unpaid care work globally and nearly 1.4 billion adults remain financially excluded. The document calls for the institutionalisation of progress to protect gender equality gains from political shifts and supports the development of National Care Strategies by 2030.

The document argues that while South Africa's social grant system is perceived as rife with fraud, the majority of high-value fraud is perpetrated by government officials and predatory third parties rather than beneficiaries. It criticizes the government's current 'crackdown'—which includes biometric verification, credit bureau checks, and automated algorithms—as being ineffective and exclusionary, often wrongly branding eligible poor people as fraudsters. The author recommends moving away from narrow poverty targeting and focusing on rooting out public sector corruption to protect the rights of vulnerable citizens.

The document examines the nature of social grant fraud in South Africa, asserting that while the government focuses on policing beneficiaries, the majority of high-value fraud is perpetrated by government officials and contractors. It critiques current automated and biometric verification systems for creating barriers to access for the poor, elderly, and disabled, effectively excluding eligible recipients from essential support.