The National Treasury and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) today announced that, after three successful funding rounds, responsibility for management of the Jobs Fund will be transferred from the DBSA to the newly-established Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC).
GTAC has been established as an advisory and project management agency of the National Treasury, and incorporates the former Public Private Partnership Unit and the Technical Assistance Unit.
The transfer will facilitate GTAC’s support for the Jobs Fund, while allowing the DBSA to focus on its core lending and development finance responsibilities.
To date, the Jobs Fund has approved funding for 91 projects, totalling R4.96 billion in grant funding to facilitate the creation of over 160 000 jobs over the program lifespan.
Minister of Finance, Nhlanhla Musa Nene, said “We take very seriously the challenge of unemployment in this country, particularly for young unemployed people. We must work hard, and work together, to respond to the very difficult challenges we face.”
At its core, the Jobs Fund seeks to catalyse innovation and investment in activities which directly contribute to sustainable job creation, as well as long term employment opportunities.
The next phase in the implementation of the Fund will see a shift towards partnerships with larger intermediaries to enable the Fund to scale up its activities, drawing on experience over the past three years and promoting broader systemic impacts. A fourth funding round will be announced toward the end of this year.
The Jobs Fund creates jobs by supporting initiatives that generate employment in innovative ways. The R9 billion Fund offers once-off grants in the areas of enterprise development, infrastructure, support for work seekers and institutional capacity building.
Established by the South African government in 2011, The Jobs Fund awards grants to organisations through a competitive process. The Jobs Fund aims to create 150 000 permanent new jobs in South Africa.
