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4 April 2009

In the wake of government's successful first phase of the EPWP, more than R4 billion have now been set aside for the second phase.

The target of one million work opportunities between 2004 and 2009 for phase one of EPWP, was successfully achieved a year in advance in 2008. Many of these opportunities received Kamoso Excellence Awards in recognition of their effort. From 2009 to 2014, government plans to create 4,5 million work opportunities in the second phase of EPWP.

Speaking at the launch of the EPWP second phase at the University of the Western Cape this morning, Deputy President Baleka Mbete said the focus would now shift to home-based care and community health projects.

"Other key adjustments to the programme design include the establishment of a fiscal incentive committed to this programme to reward the creation of longer term, more stable employment in provinces and municipalities. This is based on performance and is not a planning-based allocation."

The second phase has several new features. Firstly, provinces and municipalities are now eligible for incentives - if they can prove that targets have been met and, possibly, even surpassed. Deputy President Mbete spoke of the need to encourage the creation of labour intensive programmes at all spheres of government.

"To be eligible, provinces and municipalities need to meet the agreed minimum participation targets for women, youth and people with disabilities, and employment creation targets using their conditional infrastructure grants, as well as report on their contribution to the EPWP to the national Department of Public Works."

Secondly, civil society can now also play its part in job creation. Deputy President Mbete mentioned how for the first time, government will fund or co-fund projects to be managed by Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs). This innovation is important as it rallies all sectors of South Africa behind the aim halving unemployment by 2014 and the fight against poverty.

"As EPWP moves from the first to the second phase – there is an urgent need for the programme to be bigger and better. This need for a bigger EPWP encouraged us to grow the programme fourfold in the next five years."

The EPWP is a government initiative to use public funds to boost job creation and skills development as an integral part of the fight against poverty. Cabinet approved the initial five year plan in late 2003 and the EPWP officially started the following year. In late 2008, Cabinet agreed to roll-out the second phase.

An important benefit of the EPWP is improved public service delivery as more people are employed in the provision of essential services. And in many cases this has positive, if perhaps unexpected, developments. For example, EPWP-trained fire-fighters now attached Working for Water and Working for Fire, recently distinguished themselves in the battles against the scores of fires around the Cape Peninsula as they worked alongside professional fire-fighters.

However, this is just one example of many as the EPWP is assisting poor South Africans across the country to access work opportunities and skills training. Public Works Minister Geoff Doidge emphasised the importance of a joint partnership between Government and South Africans as a whole.

"EPWP is your programme with the sole aim of ridding you of the yoke of unemployment and poverty. Take this programme wherever you go even to the most obscure corners of this country"

For further information and copies of speeches, please contact:
Denzil Taylor
Spokeperson: Deputy President Baleka Mbete
Cell: 082 561 3772

Reggie Ngcobo
Spokesperson: National Public Works Minister Geoff Doidge
Cell: 082 957 4545

Issued by: The Presidency
4 April 2009