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Estimates of the Provincial Revenue and Expenditure (EPRE) - 2025/26 Financial Year %uf0b7 Promote economic development through the Economic Development Fund amounting to R50 million, Jobs Fund amounting to R17.091 million and Imvaba Fund with R25.178 million in 2025/26 through the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC). %uf0b7 Promote economic growth and development of local economies in partnership with key stakeholders by aligning Local Economic Development (LED) initiatives with government programmes as well as creating and facilitating an enabling environment for implementation. This includes small town revitalisation and the development of township economies; %uf0b7 Increase the number of jobs created through sector and cluster development and support sustainable initiatives, agro-processing and manufacturing; %uf0b7 Facilitate the development of strategic infrastructure projects such as Budget Facility for Infrastructure amounting to R303.169 million for 2025/26 and R1.702 billion over the 2025 MTEF to Coega Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) focusing on socio-economic infrastructure, Operation Phakisa, the Black Industrialisation Programme and support of Strategic Infrastructure Programmes (SIPs) that will stimulate the competitiveness of priority sectors in the provincial economy. Furthermore, R31.500 million in 2025/26 and R85.407 million over the 2025 MTEF is for the property modernisation through ECDC which will help revenue enhancement for its sustainability; %uf0b7 Support manufacturing and service industries by creating 10 135 jobs through the promotion of special economic zones; %uf0b7 Promote consumer rights, develop systems for effective regulation of the liquor, gambling and betting industries in the province; %uf0b7 Provide credible information and databank that informs economic policy and planning processes; %uf0b7 Support the development of tourism by attracting 7.500 million tourists in the province between 2025 and 2030 for competitive product offerings; %uf0b7 Establish, implement and maintain effective systems to manage the sustainable utilisation of biological resources and conservation of ecosystems; %uf0b7 Establish, implement and maintain effective systems using environmental legislation to protect the environment and implement environmental awareness programmes to empower communities; and %uf0b7 Facilitate informed environmental decision-making through the implementation of comprehensive environmental planning and coordination mechanisms. 1.5 Demands for and expected changes in the services DEDEAT had experience a wide range of challenges with a high rate of demand to improve provincial economy, mainly due to slower recovery of the economy post COVID-19 pandemic. This has been further exacerbated by the uncertain global inflation trend, Middle East crisis, Ukraine-Russian war, slow recovery of China and trade decoupling, which resulted in stagnant job creation. Despite these challenges the province witnessed significant uptick in construction projects for sustainable growth and development. This requires a different approach on the methods of how work is delivered together with other partners and stakeholders since the focus is now on economic recovery both at a provincial and national level. DEDEAT, through collaboration, co-ordination, facilitation, integration and support provided to all Economic Sectors, Investment, Employment and Infrastructure Development (ESIEID) Cluster departments, is the centre to improve economic growth and sustainable development. The province is faced with high unemployment rate as well as high level of inequality and distribution of income. As at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, the official unemployment rate for the Province was at 36.6 per cent, while with the expanded definition, the unemployment rate was 47.6 per cent. Furthermore, de-industrialisation and the poor investor climate create a challenging environment for the department to create economic opportunities for investment and associated job creation. The 613