#EPWPRoadshow: Let’s get the city working again
20 November 2017
The Executive Mayor if Tshwane, Cllr Solly Msimanga, launched the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) in Mamelodi today. “The EPWP is a mass recruitment drive to get Tshwane back to work”, Cllr Msimanga said.
The EPWP is a national government’s programme aimed at creating temporary work opportunities for unemployed South Africans. It is a nationwide programme which covers all spheres of government and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and is co-ordinated by the National Department of Public Works (DPW), as mandated by Cabinet.
The City of Tshwane has been participating in the programme by employing workers on a temporary or contract basis with the intention of transferring skills and at the same time providing the much needed income. However, the programme was marred by nepotism, cronyism and some appointments were made on the basis of political affiliation.
On the 28th of September this year, the City Council approved a Policy Framework on the recruitment of the EPWP participants in the City of Tshwane.
“In this revised policy, we have done away with all the shenanigans that characterised the initial implementation of EPWP, which came to be known colloquially as Vat Alles, with a view to giving all unemployed residents of Tshwane an equal opportunity” councillor Msimanga continued.
Councillor Msimanga said his administration has adopted the principle of ‘Good Governance’ as one of its strategic priorities, which requires to continuously consult with communities in the law making and governance related programmes.
“This is the reason why we are here today as part of our programme to embark on a city-wide roadshow to publicise this new recruitment process”.
This region (Region 6) is the first of seven regions that will be visited from today until Sunday 26 November this year, with a view to encouraging interested and qualifying individuals to register on the central database at their various identified registration centres across all the seven regions.
The roadshows are also going to be used to explain to residents how the recruitment / employment process is going to unfold.
One of the proposed amendments to the revised policy includes the registration of eligible EPWP beneficiaries on a Central Database, with beneficiaries selected through an open and audited lottery-like system.
This random selection will be open to public observation and such selection process will also be published in advance in the Wards and Regions from which the EPWP beneficiaries will be recruited.
The selection process will be subjected to an independent audit to ensure transparency.
WHAT IS THE EPWP CENTRAL DATABASE?
The EPWP central database is a database which will be used by the City of Tshwane to store information on interested unemployed city residents. The City will start to appoint beneficiaries from the central database. The process of appointing beneficiaries from the central database will occur by way of random selection, which is to be achieved either by a manual or electronic lottery.
WHO SHOULD REGISTER ON THE EPWP DATABASE?
Registration is open to members of households:
- whose household head has less than a primary school education;
- that have fewer than one full-time person earning an income;
- where subsistence agriculture is the source of income; and
- which rely on social grants, including disability grants.
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR REGISTERING ON THE DATABASE?
The applicant must –
- be unemployed at the time of registration;
- be a South African citizen and a resident of Tshwane;
- be of a legal employable age;
- produce a certified copy of his or her ID or, in the absence of an ID, a birth certificate, driver’s licence, affidavit or proof of application for an ID; and
- produce proof of residence
- meet the physical requirements and specifications for the job opportunity.
This information will be shared with members of the community via knock-and-drops, during walk-abouts at shopping malls, public places and popular community eateries like SHISANYAMA’S, recruitment (registration) sites’ visits and public meetings in every REGION.
“We are doing all this ensure that we raise awareness about the revised EPWP policy, to inform potential beneficiaries about the registration venues and to eliminate any chance of political interference, cronyism and nepotism. We want to assure our communities that politicians will be barred from meddling with the selection process”.
“This administration is committed to be all-inclusive of all race groups, gender and age. We will continue to strive for transparency and accountability in the implementation of government programmes”, Cllr Msimanga concluded.