eThekwini Cancels EPWP Contracts Because It Cannot Afford It

• The eThekwini Municipality announced that it is cancelling the Expanded Public Works Programme
• It said that it cannot afford the R278 million it needs to sustain the six-month contract programme, which employed thousands in the City
• South Africans believed that the EPWP was used as an elections tool, and many expected that the programme would end in eThekwini

Tebogo Mokwena, a dedicated Briefly News current affairs journalist, contributed coverage of international and local social issues like health, corruption, education, unemployment, service delivery protests and heritage in South Africa during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

ETHEKWINI, KWAZULU-NATAL — The eThekwini Municipality cancelled the Expanded Public Works Programme because it can no longer afford it.

eThekwini cancels EPWP programme

@ZANewsFlash posted a statement from the municipality announcing the cancellation of the EPWP programme. It revealed that it spent R287 million annually and needs a further R278 million to continue running.

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It added that the Department of Public Works reduced the Incentive Grant to R18.7 million, which means the municipality has to source the R278 million from its savings.

"Unfortunately, the City Manager and Chief Financial Officer have indicated that the municipality does not have the required savings. Hence, the contracts for all EPWP participants will not be renewed," it said.

It added that EPWP workers will receive their last payment on 25 July. Read the statement here:

South Africans are not surprised it's over

Netizens believed the programme's end was expected after the 2024 general elections.

Isishabasheki said:

"Electioneering is over now. It's back to factory settings."

Miss Believe said:

"This was for elections, actually. These contracts were ended late last year but renewed just before elections."

Khuzumdumo said:

"The power of rigging votes. MK must stop this nonsense."

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Lindanie said:

"All the money is going to pay for the bloated cabinet."

Xola said:

"They want to employ new people. They just want to remove the ones employed currently."

Ashley Mendelowitz said:

"An ANC announcement that they will end the waste and looting of taxpayer money would make a nice change."

Panyaza Lesufi says green EPWP is not going anywhere

Similarly, Briefly News reported that the Premier of Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi, disputed allegations that the EPWP in Gauteng ended.

This came after the Gauteng Provincial Government announced that the green EPWPs' contracts were cancelled.

Source: Briefly News