Electricity & energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says factors such as exchange rate risks, fees and other non-price conditions have added a layer of complexity to South Africa’s just energy transition partnership (JETP) funding efforts.
In a written question from parliament, DA MP Kevin Mileham asked the minister on what basis he had concluded that JETP funding was not competitive, given that the German KfW facility offers a fixed interest rate of 4.31% compared to South African government bond yields of approximately 8.43%.
“A direct comparison between a foreign-currency fixed rate and domestic South African government bond yields is not like-for-like. A competitiveness assessment must consider the all-in, risk-adjusted cost,” Ramokgopa replied.
As of December 31 last year, $7.56m (about R128m), or 85%, of JET grants had been allocated, and all $726m of JET policy-based loan funds had been allocated. About 28% (highly concessional $940m) of JET concessional loans have been allocated, and $310m, or 8%, of JET commercial instruments have been deployed.
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