Govt's Expanded Public Works Programme may need a rethink, says Macpherson
Minister of Public Works Dean Macpherson told community members in Gqeberha on Monday there’s a need to rethink ways in which the programme can be reformed.
Minister Dean Macpherson launches project prep bid window for infrastructure investment on 15 Oct 2024 Picture: X/GovernmentZA
JOHANNESBURG - Minister of Public Works Dean Macpherson has hinted at a willingness to do away with government’s Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
He told community members in Gqeberha on Monday, during the launch of his national listening tour, that there’s a need to rethink ways in which the EPWP programme can be reformed.
ALSO READ: EPWP to create 4.7 million jobs - Cogta Deputy Minister Dickson Masemola
Macpherson said the project, aimed at being a stop-gap measure for those struggling to gain employment, had been abused for far too long.
He said allegations of political patronage, jobs for pals, sex for jobs, and corruption could not continue without meaningful intervention.
"There are also some who’d have us believe that because initiatives were started in previous administrations or have been handled in a certain way, our job is simply to continue implementing them as they are. Well, they are wrong, and that is not what I will do in Public Works and Infrastructure or for EPWP."
Macpherson said the EPWP programme remains an important tool to help people access some form of employment while assisting in the delivery of services.
"If something is broken, we must fix it. We are not here to pay homage to inefficiencies or to idolise stale ideas. I am here to turn South Africa into a construction site, and we will do that through fresh thinking, new policies and discarding what doesn’t work."