EPWP: impact on beneficiaries, reforms and guidelines

The Portfolio Committee convened to receive a briefing from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) on the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). The briefing focused on beneficiary training, progression into permanent employment, return on investment of training, and proposed reforms and guidelines. The DPWI delegation included provincial programme managers, who addressed detailed questions from the Committee. The DPWI presented an overview of EPWP for the second quarter of 2025/26, highlighting both achievements and ongoing challenges. The briefing covered performance metrics, including work opportunities, full-time equivalents (FTEs), daily wages, work duration, and progress toward equity targets, while also providing updates on training and enterprise development initiatives such as National Skills Fund-funded courses, financial literacy programmes, and small enterprise support. A major focus was the EPWP reform agenda, which seeks to strengthen recruitment, improve skills development, enhance governance, and protect programme funding. The Department outlined strategies to transform EPWP training into a sustainable exit pipeline, including cost optimisation, scaling initiatives, and measures to support participants’ transition into permanent employment or self-employment. Findings from the draft evaluation report on the EPWP-Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college training strategy highlighted systemic bottlenecks affecting training quality, institutional capacity, and stipend payments, while progress on resuscitating the Public Employment Programme Inter-Ministerial Committee (PEP-IMC) was reported as a step toward stronger coordination and leadership. The DPWI reported notable successes, including the delivery of 713 601 work opportunities by Quarter 2 (69.8% of the annual target), with full compliance to the mandated daily wage of R126.64 and gender equity benchmarks exceeded. The DPWI/AgriSETA Artisan Development Programme had trained 206 apprentices, 26% of whom had been absorbed into the private sector, achieving cost efficiencies in the process. Financial literacy programmes had reached 7 741 participants, and enterprise development interventions continued to support small-scale economic activity. At the same time, the Department acknowledged ongoing challenges, including low FTE achievement due to short project durations (39.8%), recruitment malpractice, underrepresentation of persons with disabilities, governance and corruption issues, including ghost workers, inefficiencies in the TVET college training strategy, and conditional grant underspending, underscoring the need for continued reforms and improved oversight. The Independent Development Trust (IDT) also briefed the Committee on the non-profit organisation (NPO) work programme, reporting 42 262 participants enrolled through 428 NPOs, with 68% of transferred funds spent and 628 graduates completing accredited training. The IDT acknowledged ongoing negative publicity, and outlined steps to stabilise the programme. Committee Members expressed serious concerns regarding systemic weaknesses, governance failures, equitable access, and participant welfare. They highlighted the risk of programme manipulation, noting that inadequate tracking systems and varying stipend rates across public employment initiatives allowed participants to move opportunistically between short-term programmes. The Committee stressed the urgent need for sophisticated monitoring tools, including biometric systems, and for a cross-cutting participation management system to ensure that beneficiaries complete one opportunity before accessing another. Policy gaps, such as the lack of clear legislation on maximum participation durations, were also identified as contributing to confusion and unrealistic expectations among participants. The Committee also raised issues around participant remuneration. Instances of non-payment and delayed stipends were noted as causing severe financial hardship, with some participants reportedly confused about which programme they were enrolled in. Inconsistent payments for similar work and disparities between EPWP and community work programme (CWP) beneficiaries were viewed as inequitable and potentially legally problematic, underscoring deficiencies in contract oversight, and the need for stronger accountability mechanisms. Concerns regarding inclusivity and disability access were also prominent. Members noted persistent underrepresentation of persons with disabilities and highlighted that the 2% target remained unmet. The Committee emphasised the need for comprehensive demographic reporting and disaggregated data on participant progression to permanent employment. Members were also critical of leadership and governance structures, identifying managerial shortcomings, political interference, recruitment malpractice and corruption, as key impediments to programme effectiveness. Recruitment and programme initiation were reportedly influenced by political structures, while the use of non-profit organisations as implementing agents raised questions about accountability and underpayment. The EPWP was described as functioning more as a “social buffer” that alleviated unemployment temporarily, rather than providing meaningful skills development or sustainable employment, highlighting concerns about the efficient use of public funds. In response, the Committee requested that the Department present a comprehensive turnaround strategy at the next meeting, detailing measures to strengthen oversight, governance, and participant welfare. Members also called for detailed reporting, including demographic data, provincial programme comparisons, stipend amounts, training costs, and metrics on transitions into permanent employment. In conclusion, the Committee acknowledged the complexity of managing a programme of national reach, likened by senior officials to an “octopus with tentacles reaching every corner of the nation,” underscoring the challenges of coordinating widespread activities while ensuring accountability.