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Yesterday, the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, released more details on the state’s R9 billion jobs fund. The Minister indicated that R2 billion would be used as grants to help private companies take on more employment-creating projects during this year. The Democratic Alliance (DA) enthusiastically welcomes this move as a step in the right direction. Although we have been advocating a slightly different wage subsidy programme as an employment-incentivising intervention, we are happy to see that the Minister has adopted a similar approach.

This jobs grant will act in the same way as a wage subsidy – it will make state funds available to private employers to incentivise private employment. Adopting this policy firmly positions the private sector as the primary driver of job growth in the economy as opposed to the state being the primary driver of job growth. The DA welcomes this approach.

Another development we note is the announcement by Minister Malusi Gigaba that State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) will work more closely with private sector participants in order to improve efficiency and cooperation between SOEs and the private sector. This is also a positive move and will hopefully be the first step towards reforming the way our SOEs function.

Both these proposals underline a need for government to work much more closely with the private sector as a developmental partner and engine for economic growth. This is what the DA has always advocated, and we are happy to see that the Zuma administration is now starting to adopt this approach. The DA will continue engaging on these issues to advocate policies that promise to maximise economic growth and job creation, thereby offering more opportunities for all South Africans.