Programme Director
Mr E.S. Magashule, Premier of the Free State
Ms S. Ntombela, MEC for Social Development in the Free State
Mr T. P. Makgoe, MEC for Education in the Free State
Senior government officials present
EPWP beneficiaries
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning!
Let me start by appreciating the opportunity given to me to welcome delegates to this 10th Annual Conference of the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) for the Social Sector. I wish to congratulate the sector on the sterling work done in organising this conference.
I am pleased to open this annual conference, which takes place at the conclusion of EPWP Phase 2 and the beginning of EPWP Phase 3. The conference also takes place at the end of the 2009 electoral mandate and provides us with an opportunity to report on our work over the past five years. We indeed have a good story to tell for the past five years!
Honourable delegates, EPWP continues to play and pivotal role in government’s efforts to redress the apartheid legacy which divided our country along colour lines. This is indeed a legacy of more than 300 years which systematically plunged our people into a life of poverty and underdevelopment.
Those who perpetuated this injustice or stood by and did nothing to fight discrimination in its height, today claim our government has not done enough in the past 20 years to undo the damage caused by the apartheid system they condoned. However, all of us who have rolled up our sleeves and gotten our hands dirty to rebuild this country have a different story to tell.
We tell this story along with the 16 million South Africans who are now protected from abject poverty through the inclusive social security programme introduced after 1994. The 5,5 million households who have been given electricity since 1994 and the 41 million people who for the first time in the history of our country have access to sanitation also agree with us. South Africans who have benefited from more than 13,5 million new jobs and opportunities created since 1994, and the 3,3 million families who have received free homes indeed have a different story to tell from our detractors!
Our democratic government, since taking office in 1994 under the leadership of Tata Nelson Mandela, has progressively put plans in place to develop our country and deliver the promise of making South Africa a better place to live for all its citizens.
Ladies and gentlemen, the EPWP is part of Government’s broad strategy to combat poverty, promote growth and create sustainable development. The programme continues to live up to its expectations to change people’s lives. This is evident in the remarkable results it continues to produce. The EPWP Social Sector has grown over the last ten years – from two sub-programmes as a pilot, to more than five – all sub-programmes making a significant contribution to the achievement of our goals.
It is through programmes like EPWP that a number of government priorities are addressed. Through the EPWP, government is able to provide Decent Jobs and Sustainable livelihoods, Education and Training and Rural Development, amongst others. We are also able to achieve our Millennium Development Goals through the EPWP.
Programmes similar to the EPWP have been used throughout the world especially to drive infrastructure and environmental projects. It is with a sense of pride that South Africa has been able to introduce it in a sector in which it has never been tried before, the Social Sector. This is a sector which, unlike other sectors, has long term work opportunities and, if properly handled, has the potential to change the face of the EPWP in the world. It has already elicited interest and some experts have started to look at South Africa differently because of the programme.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have no doubt that we all appreciate the difficult task we are charged with of overturning the atrocities of the past. Credit must go to those among us who from time to time are seized with the task of coming up with workable strategies to make EPWP a success.
At the first roll out of the EPWP Social Sector in 2004, there were already signs that the programme had the potential to grow tremendously. Already in the first term of the programme it was clear that the potential to grow the sector was there. The Health Systems Trust (HST) study demonstrated a number of other programmes which could be part of the EPWP Social Sector and the process of incorporating such programmes has commenced.
The importance of EPWP can never be over emphasised as it was during the first phase of EPWP that Early Childhood Development (ECD) was elevated to an apex priority by Cabinet.
A significant number of children now benefit from the expansion of Early Childhood Development as a direct result of EPWP. However, the task is far from over as many children are still unable to access Early Childhood Development services that are so critical in their development.
Through the EPWP, ECD subsidies have grown over the last 10 year, from R4 per child per day in 2003/4 to R15 per child per day in 2013/14. More than half a million children have access to this subsidy. The task is far from over as many children are still unable to access this service which is critical in the development of our children. We will spare neither strength nor courage to make sure that no South African child particularly Africans will go to school without this critical foundation phase.
Honourable delegates, the EPWP Social Sector created 174 225 Work Opportunities against its overall five year target of 150 000 Work Opportunities. This translates into a 115% success rate at the end of EPWP Phase 1. The over achievement of EPWP Phase 1 informed the Social Sector targets of 750 000 Work Opportunities for EPWP Phase 2 which is the contribution to the overall target of 4.5 million and an indication of overachievement in the 3rd quarter of this financial year, recorded at 831 024 Work Opportunities which translates to 111%.
Additional to the first two mentioned programmes, we now have the National School Nutrition Programme, Community Safety, Kha Ri Gude (DBE) and Mass Participation programme. Municipalities have been brought on board as they also have programmes which are EPWP compliant.
The critical role played by EPWP is evident in that resources, in the form of the Incentive Grant, have been made available by Treasury over the last three years to help grow the sector. The Grant is meant to incentives sub-programmes which show outstanding performance against their targets. Through the Incentive Grant, more people have been brought into the system.
As we usher in EPWP Phase 3, we will continue to introduce more sub-programmes in pursuit of a meaningful contribution in government’s overarching objective to eradicate poverty and unemployment. A target of one million and thirty eight thousand (1, 038, 000) work opportunities has been set for the Social sector as its contribution to the overall EPWP target of 6 million work opportunities in the next five years.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is worth noting that although we have achieved our target generally, we continue to have challenges in reaching our enrolment target of people with disability. The quota of 2% for people with disability continues to be an elusive one. Among the measures to address this is reaching a common definition of what constitutes disability so that we are of one mind of the kind of people we must seek out for the programme and report on. I hereby direct the sector to live up to its reputation as caring and compassionate and therefore set an example for other sectors.
We must also give particular attention to the youth, especially as they form a majority category of our population and the population of the unemployed. It is through the EPWP that they will gain work experience and contribute in their communities. We view the EPWP as part of national youth service and a national call to contribute positively to our new democracy. It is against this background that the target for youth has been increased to 55% for the 3rd phase of the EPWP.
Ladies and gentlemen, our achievements have not come without challenges. Late reporting continues to pose a challenge to this programme. We trust that working in partnership with the Department of Public Work’s Monitoring and Evaluation unit and the Independent Development Trust, we will find a lasting solution to this problem.
Although training was not a prerequisite in the second phase of EPWP generally, we in the Social Sector made training a critical component of our programme. Due to the nature of our work in the sector which centres on caring for the sick and the vulnerable, skilled practitioners remain critical. Career pathing continues to be elusive in the sector as we have not yet established with our partners a concrete direction for our beneficiaries.
An exit strategy for beneficiaries is another challenge that we must address. Provinces perform differently in this regard with others channelling their beneficiaries into Social Work, Social Axillary Work, Youth Care Worker, Grade R teachers and Teacher assistant as an exit strategy. However, we currently do not have a strong exit strategy. As a result, most of our beneficiaries exit the programme to various jobs, some of which are not related to EPWP.
Further, more still needs to be done in the area of marketing EPWP. Although EPWP is meant for the less educated, it can also be of benefit to other groups, particularly the out of school and new graduates, as it affords them an opportunity to acquire much needed experience.
Although every effort has been made to communicate the Ministerial Determination of the implementing agents, adherence is still a challenge due to budgeting constrains. This is a framework or a special dispensation which regulates the working conditions of EPWP beneficiaries. Most of our sub-programmes are not able to meet this requirement. Provincial budget cuts adversely affect the sub-programmes which results in provinces not meeting their targets.
In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, we must be mindful of the hopes we carry and this must urge us on to double our efforts. Let us impress upon all leaders – be at national, provincial or local government – to embrace EPWP Social Sector as it provides meaningful opportunities for our people. Our work will not be done until every South African of working age is able to access decent work opportunities and poverty is eradicated.
I thank you.
