The eThekwini Municipality’s Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is estimated to cost the municipality R99 million for the next 12 months.

The municipality is waiting for the green light from councillors at Wednesday’s council meeting to give City Manager Musa Mbhele the go-ahead to enter into and sign a new memorandum of agreement with the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) to secure an R8.5 million incentive grant.

Council approval will also include additional funding by the city to supplement the incentive grant received from the National DPWI for the 2025/26 financial year, as well as for the extension of the contracts of EPWP participants who were employed between January 2025 and May 2025 as part of the implementation of Phase 5 of the EPWP programme.

According to the report, the estimated expenditure for the 2025/2026 financial year is R99.7 million. Council needs to approve R91.2 million for the implementation of the programme for the current financial year. A total of 989 participants are expected to be paid by the EPWP funds.

According to the municipality, the EPWP is designed to alleviate poverty and enhance living conditions among the vulnerable groups, particularly focusing on youth and women. The project emphasises community involvement by engaging beneficiaries in tasks that directly contribute to local infrastructure maintenance and environmental management.

The municipality stated that the implementation of the EPWP programme has faced several challenges that hinder its effectiveness. Issues such as inadequate funding and insufficient monitoring mechanisms have been highlighted as barriers to achieving the programme’s objectives.

The programme has been criticised for not adequately preparing participants for permanent job placements post-engagement, where many participants find themselves returning to similar precarious conditions after completing their tenure in the EPWP.

In response to these challenges, the eThekwini Mayoral Parlour’s EPWP division has implemented standard operating procedures to ensure that the programme maintains an effective system of expenditure control. This includes procedures for the approval, authorisation, withdrawal, and payment of funds to participants.

In addition, the department is actively collaborating with other government departments and state-owned entities to develop improved exit strategies for participants, ensuring that every participant in the programme has viable paths towards sustainable employment or entrepreneurship following their involvement with the programme.

The following units proposed EPWP staff count:

• Cleansing and Solid Waste – 391
• Community water agents – 46
• Social sector – 303
• Area-Based Management – 71
• Parks, Recreation and Culture – 83
• Safer Cities – 82
• EPWP Administration – 13

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za

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