Chairperson, the Expanded Public Works Programme, or EPWP, is an important element in government's capacity to provide employment for the poor, who are not part of the formal labour market in South Africa.
This position was reinforced in the framework document for South Africa's response to the international economic crisis, which was adopted by Nedlac's social partners in December 2008. The EPWP prioritises programmes that provide regular, predictable and ongoing employment.
In the infrastructure sector, the programme is expanding on maintenance programmes that will provide ongoing employment. For example, the Zibambele programme in KwaZulu-Natal has been implemented successfully.
In the social, environmental and cultural sectors, many of these programmes are ongoing, since they provide the needed social and environmental services that are continuous and not time-bound.
The programme is also accelerating the roll-out of the community works programme. This is an innovative programme that involves local communities in deciding on the work that must be done and then selecting unemployed members of the communities, who are guaranteed work for two days a week. By the end of September this year, 223 552 work opportunities had been created.
The EPWP is designed to be a social safety net to cover people during periods of unemployment and provide work for those who never had the opportunity to work. It is common knowledge that the state alone cannot provide jobs, but it can create the enabling conditions for job creation.
Through the EPWP, the state consciously intervenes by delivering needed infrastructure and social services and, at the same time, provides an opportunity for the unemployed to earn an income through productive work by contributing to their communities. In some cases these jobs are short-term jobs, in that they are the product of government-designed infrastructure projects in a way that maximises the use of labour. This will allow people to be involved in the numerous infrastructure projects that are implemented across the country to address infrastructure backlogs. Thank you.