| LODEWIJK
BRIET
EUROPEAN UNION AMBASSADOR
The European Union (EU) is the largest donor of funds to South Africa.
Our R1 billion Annual Development Co-operation Budget spans areas
as diverse as education, water, sanitation, and the entrenchment
of a human rights culture.
Local economic development is one of our priority areas for supporting
job creation in South Africa. Given the large levels of unemployment
which persist in South Africa today, local economic development
takes on even more importance as a model for addressing this challenge.
The EU Programme supporting Local Economic Development in Limpopo
has been based on the EU model for supporting job creation and development
in the poorer regions of Europe. This model has had much success
in contributing to growth and employment in the poorer countries
of Europe.
The initial results from these grant funds give us hope that this
model can also have similar success in Limpopo.
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