Welcome to the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)
Contributing to a Nation at Work
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The EPWP is one of South African Government’s short-to-medium term programmes aimed at the provision of additional work opportunities coupled with training. It is a national programme covering all spheres of government and state-owned enterprises. President Mbeki formally announced the programme in his State of the Nation Address in February 2003. Unemployment in South Africa The EPWP is one of several government strategies aimed at addressing unemployment in South Africa, the causes of which are manifold and complex. There is nevertheless substantial agreement that the cause of unemployment is structural rather than cyclical. The magnitude of South Africa’s unemployment crisis is such that in September 2003, 4.6 million people were unemployed in terms of the strict definition and 8.3 million in terms of the broad definition. High and growing rates of unemployment are a consequence of dynamics on both the demand and supply sides of the labour market. On the supply-side, increasing rates of labour force participation have significantly expanded the number of job seekers. On the demand side, there has been some growth of employment between 1995 and 2002, but this has not been sufficient to absorb new labour market entrants. Hence the unemployment rate has grown by 1% to 2% per annum, reaching 30.7% by September 2002. Government’s response Two fundamental strategies underpin the government’s approach to reducing unemployment. Firstly, to increase economic growth so that the number of net new jobs being created starts to exceed the number of new entrants into the labour market; and secondly to improve the education system such that the workforce is able to take up the largely skilled work opportunities which economic growth will generate. Short- to medium-term strategies have been put in place to contribute towards these strategies, of which the EPWP is one. President Thabo Mbeki formally announced the EPWP in his State of the Nation Address in February 2003. The programme was agreed to at the Growth and Development Summit (GDS) held in June 2003. Cabinet finally adopted the programme in November 2003. The EPWP is a nationwide programme covering all spheres of government and state-owned enterprises that aims to draw significant numbers of unemployed into productive work, accompanied by training, so that they increase their capacity to earn an income. It is thus an important means of providing exposure to the world of work in a context where a very high proportion of the unemployed have never been employed. Indeed, 70% of the 16- to 34-year-old age group (which constitutes the “youth” category in terms of the Youth Commission’s definition), never having worked, while 59% of all unemployed people have never worked. The programme involves reorientating line function budgets and conditional grants so that government expenditure results in more work opportunities, particularly for unskilled labour. The GDS agreed that the EPWP must not displace existing permanent jobs and all opportunities must be based on real demand for services. The EPWP will not solve the structural unemployment problem. It is merely one element within a broader government strategy to reduce poverty through the alleviation and reduction of unemployment. |
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