The Democratic Alliance (DA) has condemned what it calls the: “shocking abuse” of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) in the Bojanala District Municipality in North West, where unemployed workers hired through the state scheme were allegedly forced to perform domestic work for African National Congress (ANC) councillors and pay part of their stipends to cover: “fuel costs”.

DA spokesperson Bonginkosi Madikizela said: “Workers were allegedly forced to perform domestic work for ANC councillors, pay a portion of their stipends for ‘fuel costs’, and take up ANC membership to secure work.” He said the episode: “once again exposes how ANC politicians exploit vulnerable citizens and public programmes for their own political and personal gain.”

The EPWP, created in 2004 to offer short-term employment and skills training to poor households, employs hundreds of thousands of workers a year across municipalities. Allegations that local officials are using it to entrench party patronage strike at the heart of one of South Africa’s largest anti-poverty programmes.

Madikizela welcomed Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson’s swift decision to launch an investigation, saying Macpherson’s ongoing: “listening tour” was uncovering: “the full extent of the problem, including disturbing accounts of sexual exploitation in exchange for work opportunities.” The DA also called on Co-operative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa to: “clean up this rot and protect workers from further exploitation.”

The episode shows how poverty relief efforts risk becoming instruments of political control unless strict oversight, transparent hiring and criminal accountability are enforced.