government's renewed Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) to boost job and
skills creation until 2014
4 April 2009
In the wake of government's successful first phase of the EPWP, more than R4
billion have now been set aside for the second phase.
The target of one million work opportunities between 2004 and 2009 for phase
one of EPWP, was successfully achieved a year in advance in 2008. Many of these
opportunities received Kamoso Excellence Awards in recognition of their effort.
From 2009 to 2014, government plans to create 4,5 million work opportunities in
the second phase of EPWP.
Speaking at the launch of the EPWP second phase at the University of the
Western Cape this morning, Deputy President Baleka Mbete said the focus would
now shift to home-based care and community health projects.
"Other key adjustments to the programme design include the establishment of
a fiscal incentive committed to this programme to reward the creation of longer
term, more stable employment in provinces and municipalities. This is based on
performance and is not a planning-based allocation."
The second phase has several new features. Firstly, provinces and
municipalities are now eligible for incentives - if they can prove that targets
have been met and, possibly, even surpassed. Deputy President Mbete spoke of
the need to encourage the creation of labour intensive programmes at all
spheres of government.
"To be eligible, provinces and municipalities need to meet the agreed
minimum participation targets for women, youth and people with disabilities,
and employment creation targets using their conditional infrastructure grants,
as well as report on their contribution to the EPWP to the national Department
of Public Works."
Secondly, civil society can now also play its part in job creation. Deputy
President Mbete mentioned how for the first time, government will fund or
co-fund projects to be managed by Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs). This
innovation is important as it rallies all sectors of South Africa behind the
aim halving unemployment by 2014 and the fight against poverty.
"As EPWP moves from the first to the second phase â there is an urgent need
for the programme to be bigger and better. This need for a bigger EPWP
encouraged us to grow the programme fourfold in the next five years."
The EPWP is a government initiative to use public funds to boost job
creation and skills development as an integral part of the fight against
poverty. Cabinet approved the initial five year plan in late 2003 and the EPWP
officially started the following year. In late 2008, Cabinet agreed to roll-out
the second phase.
An important benefit of the EPWP is improved public service delivery as more
people are employed in the provision of essential services. And in many cases
this has positive, if perhaps unexpected, developments. For example,
EPWP-trained fire-fighters now attached Working for Water and Working for Fire,
recently distinguished themselves in the battles against the scores of fires
around the Cape Peninsula as they worked alongside professional
fire-fighters.
However, this is just one example of many as the EPWP is assisting poor
South Africans across the country to access work opportunities and skills
training. Public Works Minister Geoff Doidge emphasised the importance of a
joint partnership between Government and South Africans as a whole.
"EPWP is your programme with the sole aim of ridding you of the yoke of
unemployment and poverty. Take this programme wherever you go even to the most
obscure corners of this country"
For further information and copies of speeches, please contact:
Denzil Taylor
Spokeperson: Deputy President Baleka Mbete
Cell: 082 561 3772
Reggie Ngcobo
Spokesperson: National Public Works Minister Geoff Doidge
Cell: 082 957 4545
Issued by: The Presidency
4 April 2009
