It is a great honour that today we are gathered here to mark the start of our EPWP month, the month of September. This month marks the launch of the EPWP programme by the late Minister Stella Sigcawu in Mthatha during September 2004 where we pledged and committed our province in fighting poverty through the EPWP. It is against this background that we continue to accelerate our communication to reach out to the communities, social partners and other spheres of government, sharing the experiences and our achievements in the fight against poverty and unemployment. It is by no coincidence that we once again launch our second phase of EPWP during the month of September.
Ladies and gentlemen it is important for us to understand that Expanded Public Works Programme is just but one of the government strategies in fighting unemployment and poverty. It is not an answer to all our social problems as there are a number of other government interventions such as the social security net, improvement of education, balancing economic growth to mention but a few.
The primary objective of EPWP is to re-orientate the public expenditure on goods and services towards job creation, creating a conducive environment for the unemployed to actively participate in the broader economic mainstream of the country.
In the first phase of EPWP the Eastern Cape moved from a state of possibility to a state of probability but finally to prosperity. We may not have conquered, but we pride ourselves for being the second best contributing province in achieving the 1million target a year early than anticipated. We exceeded our target of 176 000, by creating 255 684 work opportunities.
This is a product of the cooperation and selfless participation of public bodies within the province both provincial departments and local government structures. The 375 young people participating in the Vukuphile leanership programme is a clear testimony. Let’s not forget “together we can do more”
Madam Premier our EPWP phase one has come and gone and now we venture into phase two with the national target of creating 4.5 million work opportunities. As a province we commit ourselves in contributing not less than 484 736 work opportunities in the next five years (2009 to 2014). Further to that we will create 48 000 work opportunities by December 2009 as announced by state President Jacob Zuma.
Ladies and gentlemen Department of Roads and Public Works as a lead department charged with the responsibility of coordinating and providing the support to public bodies has already started with providing technical support to public bodies that are eligible for the EPWP wage incentive grant which is meant to encourage public bodies to more job opportunities.
We further accelerated the provision of accredited training to the Social sector through Department of Education and Social Development in the Early Childhood Development programme (ECD).
One thousand one hundred (1 100) ECD practitioners are undergoing National Qualification Framework (NQF) level one on child care whilst 60 are already in child care level four. By end of October a further 670 will be trained in child care level four. This is meant to improve the quality of service delivery and career-path of practitioners.
Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs has started implementing the environmental cleanliness and bio-diversity programmes which has a great potential of absorbing unemployed people to productive work.
In this month of September we will improve our communication strategy in profiling and show casing the EPWP and the best practice within the province. We will also increase the public awareness on the strides the province has taken in mainstreaming job creation within the core mandates as well as to engage our social partners in attempts to encourage them to invest more on job creation programmes in light of the current global recession.
Our programme includes
* The launch of the National Youth Service programme implemented by Roads and Public Works which intends to contract 1000 youth to maintain government assets. The official launch will be held in Port Elizabeth on 22 September, the same day Coega Development Cooperation will be graduating 30 EPWP learnership contractors.
* On 29 September Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality will also be graduating 60 EPWP Leanership contractors.
* 30 September we will be awarding cheques to the public bodies that are eligible for the wage incentive grant.
* A series of briefing sessions will be held throughout the province with professional consultants to assist them to apprehend the EPWP requirements.
In conclusion, the EPWP is not about infrastructure, but it is about bridging the poverty gaps and creating employment opportunities.
Thank you
Issued by: Department of Public Works, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
2 September 2009
Source: Department of Public Works, Eastern Cape Provincial Government (http://dpw.ecprov.gov.za)
