DA Launches National Probe Into Public Works Programmes

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has launched a national investigation into the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and the Community Work Programme (CWP), saying corruption and political interference are denying vulnerable people fair access to work.

Announcing the probe, the party said it: “will be launching a crucial oversight in the EPWP and Community Work Programme to champion their cause,” following DA Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson’s Listening Tour, which uncovered: “widespread allegations of corruption and abuse.”

The DA points to recent cases that illustrate the scale of the problem. It highlights allegations that Winnie Sono, the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Budget and Treasury in the Bojanala District Municipality (Rustenburg) in North West, used EPWP workers to clean her private home while: “coercing the workers to pay for ANC [African National Congress] membership cards and fuel contributions.” It adds that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has confirmed that: “R13.8 million was lost to corruption across the EPWP.”

The party says it: “won’t tolerate a growing trend of political corruption in the work opportunity programmes of government, because this corruption is stealing jobs from people who need to put food on the table for their families.”