Expanded Public Works Programme: Department's update

Public Works and Infrastructure

09 November 2009
Chairperson: Mr G Oliphant (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

The Department of Public Works briefed the Committee on the progress of the Expanded Public Works Project (EPWP) up to September 2009. The presentation focussed on the impact of the EPWP on the ground, the challenges and the shortcomings. The accountability arrangements at all levels of government were outlined. Five-year work opportunities were outlined in infrastructure projects, and the 2009 December target was the creation of 500 000 jobs through EPWP. The Department presented the expenditure estimates of the construction industry development programme, EPWP, property industry development programme and administration from 2005/06 to 2011/12. The progress against targets for each province, for the first and second quarters were outlined. The Department’s presentation also described the actions that would be taken to ensure delivery.

Members asked for further clarity on the incentive procedures and wages, the promise of creation of 500 000 jobs by the end of the year, whether the jobs were permanent, and highlighted the capacity problems at municipalities, asking several questions about how the Department intended to address this, and what they were doing to assist low-capacity municipalities. Members were interested to know what happened to the employees when the projects were finished, how the municipalities had to report, and on the categories of beneficiaries, and in this regard the Department undertook to provide a breakdown. Further questions addressed the criteria used to identify skills in rural areas, how communities who were already organising themselves could access funding, the target markets and what would be defined as a “job”. The Members asked that their specific concerns be included in the Committee Report. Members also asked about the involvement of Sector Education and Training Authorities, suggested that the Department should not merely focus on the numbers, but rather on the type and sustainability of work opportunities, the tracking system of all the EPWP recipients, and noted that the Committee could assist the Department in its efforts.

Meeting report

Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP): Department of Public Works Briefing
Mr Stanley Henderson, Acting Deputy Director General: Expanded Public Works Programme, Department of Public Works, spoke on the institutional arrangements around the programme, and focused on the roles of the Public Works Inter-Governmental Forum, the National Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) Co-ordinating Committee and the Public Works Heads of Department (HoDs) Committee. He briefly touched on the accountability arrangements and levels of arrangements from the Minister, Premiers, MECs, and Mayors down to municipal managers. He emphasised the fact that the EPWP was the Government’s initiative to provide employment to the poor, who were not part of the labour market. He then touched on the Government strategies and goals of poverty reduction through job creation.

In respect of five-year work opportunities, he spoke about infrastructure projects, and environmental, social, and non-State programmes, from 2009-2014, with the sum total of all the targets. He said that the 2009 December target was the creation of 500 000 jobs through EPWP. He went through the expenditure estimates of the construction industry development programme, EPWP, property industry development programme and administration from 2005/06 to 2011/12.

Mr Henderson then outlined the progress against 2009 targets, per province, for the first and second quarters. In respect of the incentives for provincial Departments, for the second quarter, he went through the allocations, giving the amounts transferred. He touched on performance on infrastructure sector incentives for municipalities on the second quarter of 2009, and projections for the third quarter 2009. He then summarised the actions that would be taken to ensure delivery (see attached presentation for details).

Discussion
The Chairperson asked for clarity on incentive procedures and wages.

Mr Henderson replied that incentive procedures referred to the R465 million allocated for wages to municipalities.

Mr M Rabotapi (DA) said that he appreciated the tone of the report. He asked for clarity on government’s promise of 500 000 jobs by the end of the year. He asked whether labour intensive jobs meant lower workmanship standards and whether the jobs were permanent or not.

Mr Henderson replied that the 500 000 jobs target would be reached by the end of the year across all the sectors of the EPWP, such as environmental, infrastructure and social. There was no compromise on the quality of work done. Research had shown that low volume roads could be constructed using labour intensive means. Employment opportunities lasted between 6 months and 24 months, and they depended upon the duration of the project.

Mr T Magama (ANC) said that municipalities had capacity problems in technical fields such as engineers and surveying. He wanted to know the Department’s plans to address the problems of skills shortage. He then asked the reason why other municipalities had not signed the incentive procedures. He also queried what would be happening in respect of the 100 000 jobs that were outstanding, pointing out that this meant that 25% of the jobs were not provided.

Mr Henderson explained that reports had shown that 400 000 jobs had been created so far. The outstanding 100 000 was in the pipeline, with the new projects. He admitted that municipalities had capacity problems, but said that the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) was working with the Department in addressing the problem. All the municipalities that qualified for the incentive had to sign for it, otherwise they would lose out.

Mr S Masango (DA) asked what happened to the employees when the projects were finished. He also requested clarity on reporting process of municipalities.

Mr Henderson replied that the bigger projects relied on heavy machinery, and the period of employment lasted longer. After the EPWP projects, some people would enrol at Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges, to be trained further on what they had been doing to get their certificates. Some opted for the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) sector, to start businesses such as construction companies or cabinet making enterprises.

Mr Henderson explained that the wage incentive was linked to performances of the municipalities. The Municipalities would get incentives based on how much work they did, because this was intended to persuade them to create more job opportunities.

Mr M Manana (ANC) noted that the report had no breakdown of the beneficiaries of the EPWP, such as examples of how many women, youth and people with disabilities were employed.

Mr Henderson mentioned that the breakdown of employment statistics would be forwarded later on. The breakdown was divided into 55 % women, 38 % Youth and 2% people with disabilities.

Mr Rabotapi asked about the criteria used to identify skills in rural areas. He said that some communities organised themselves around environmental issues, and asked how they could access funds.

Mr Henderson explained that the EPWP targeted the lower end of the skills market. The typical example of the recipient would be a 30 year old person who had never had a steady permanent job and who was poorly skilled. R58 million had been earmarked to assist Non Profit Organisations (NPOs) and the EPWP was working with the Independent Development Trust to assist Non Government Organisations (NGOs) and NPOs.

Mr P Mnguni (COPE) asked about steps taken by the Department in helping struggling municipalities that did not have a revenue base. He raised his concern with the word “job” being used for someone who perhaps was painting a house for three days or was digging a trench for a week. The project would take other people from another village. He suggested the unemployed could be used to fix the potholes in rural roads.

Mr Henderson replied that 130 municipalities were working with the DBSA and the Independent Development Trust (IDT) to address capacity problems. The jobs provided by the EPWP were based on the duration of the projects. The Department had a database that tracked the development of all the recipients. A full time job was regarded as one that lasted a year.

Ms N Madlala (ANC) asked the reason that the Eastern Cape received only 7% of the incentives, which amounted to less than R2 million, out of R53 million. There were nine provinces in the country and so she asked why there were 17 Departments dealing with the EPWP.

Mr Henderson explained that each province had two Departments that dealt with the EPWP. In the Eastern Cape few municipalities requested transfers, and he noted that, for example,  Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality had signed for the transfer for the second quarter.

The Chairperson requested a list of all technical teams that were helping to capacitate the municipalities, and which municipalities had been assisted. The information would be used for oversight purposes. Many people were waiting for the EPWP but the municipalities did not take the initiatives. Some municipalities did not even sign up for the incentives. The Department had to come up with an alternative way of initiating projects. The EPWP was not a new concept, since former American President Theodore Roosevelt had a similar programme after the great Depression. In Germany, after the Second World War, a similar programme was undertaken to help rebuild that country. He urged the delegation not to focus on number-crunching but rather on the work that was supposed to be done on the ground. He raised his concern regarding the skewed nature of the allocation, because the former homelands infrastructure was in a state of decay. He felt that this was supposed to be a priority.

Mr Mnguni suggested that the Committee Report should be amended to include Members’ concerns.

Mr Mnguni asked the reasons that the Sector Education and Training Authorities  were not listed in the accountability arrangements and the representatives of the recipients. He asked about the kind of help that was given to emerging entrepreneurs.

Ms N November (ANC) said that the departments were not co-operating and suggested that all departmental staff had to make serious efforts to do their jobs.

Mr S Masango (ANC) said that the Department should not focus on the number of 500 000, but rather focus on creating quality jobs that were sustainable.

Mr Henderson responded that the Department was not playing the numbers game, but that the studies that were commissioned to evaluate the impact of the EPWP showed the numbers.

The Chairperson asked the Department to co-operate with the Committee, and pointed out that the Sector Education and Training Authorities were not doing what they were intended to do. He said that the Members expected that the population would be skilled in marketable skills that were needed for the economy. He enquired about the tracking system of all the EPWP recipients.

Mr Henderson acknowledged that all the Members’ concerns were constructive in nature and the Department would try to address them. All the good pilot skills training programmes would be replicated nationwide.  He urged Members to ask municipal officials the reasons they were not requesting transfers.

Mr Sam Vikela, Acting Director General, Department of Public Works, said that Members’ concerns went to the heart of the EPWP. Although not every question would be answered in this session, Members would receive answers.

The Chairperson stressed that the Committee was in a position to help the Department to facilitate projects. Most municipalities in the North West were in a state of collapse, and rural development was a challenge facing all the Government Departments.

The meeting was adjourned.

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