Workers of the Expanded Public Works Programme doing their daily work at the Union Buildings. Picture: Itumeleng English/African News Agency (ANA)
Pretoria - The City of Tshwane is basking in the glory of its success after it announced that it created more than 20 000 job opportunities under the municipality’s Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
MMC for Economic Development and Spatial Planning, Hannes Coetzee, and MMC Community and Social Development Services, Peggy de Bruin, expressed satisfaction that job opportunities were created under the 2022/23 fiscal year.
“The City maximises the generation of employment chances through given funding by carrying out projects internally (without using outside service providers), eliminating associated expenses and using the money for what it was intended for (creating opportunities),” it said.
The announcement was made during the week when Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Sihle Zikalala, hosted a two-day EPWP Phase 5 Indaba aimed at “reconceptualisation” and “redesigning” the programme.
As of October 6, the department said, the EPWP created 610 882 work opportunities which was 58.8% towards reaching its 2023/24 financial year targets. It added that the EPWP Phase 4 between 2019/20 and 2023/24 cumulatively created over 4.5 million work opportunities against the target of 5 million for the period ending March 2024.
On the other hand, the municipality said the process it used to select participants for job opportunities was consistent with its commitment to fairness, transparency and clean governance.
“The process is also subject to auditing to further guarantee its credibility. During the 2023/24 financial year, these programmes were bolstered with the approval of council and the National Treasury,” the City said.
It further said the Public Employment Programme (PEP) and EPWP saw the appointment of qualified trainee artisans, such as welders, employment plumbers, electricians, motor mechanics, fitters and turners, for a period of 12 months.
“The deployment of these artisans in technical areas such as regional operations, fleet, energy and waste water will significantly improve the City’s service delivery.
“We are proud to announce that so far 71 artisans have signed contracts and assumed work from October 2.”
The City said it remained committed to meeting its job creation targets during the 2023/24 financial year for PEP and EPWP.
In June, the City conducted a recruitment drive in various regions where unemployed people came to apply for a one-year employment programme.
In the past the recruitment process was bedevilled by allegations that it favoured those who were politically connected, especially individuals linked to the ANC.
Several communities expressed concern last year during a public consultation process led by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure that they were often excluded from the EPWP job opportunities because of patronage and external interference in the recruitment process.
De Bruin and Coetzee said: “The City of Tshwane remains consistent with the multiparty coalition’s strategic objective of creating a business-friendly city that promotes employment and economic growth.”
Pretoria News
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