Question NW509 to the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure
09 April 2020 - NW509
Graham, Ms SJ to ask the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure
Whether she has been informed that the contracts of 5 000 workers in the Expanded Public Works Programme in Gauteng are being terminated; if so, (a) how were the workers notified of thetermination of their contracts, (b) what is the reason for the termination of the contracts, (c) what are the projects and/or departments which will be affected by the terminations and (d) what measures will be taken to ensure that the projects and/or departments are not adversely affected by the terminations?
Reply:
The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:
As the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, I was not informed that the 5000 contracts, of participants in the Expanded Public Works Programme in Gauteng, were being terminated.
Each public body that implements an Expanded Public Works Programme is responsible for the recruitment and terminations of contracts of participants in a programme. However, in this particular case, I was subsequently informed by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) that the matter was addressed by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and Property Management, as the coordinator of the EPWP in the Gauteng Province.
a) The participants were initially informed of the termination of their contracts by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and Property Management, via a text message. This was to be followed by letters from public bodies to the participants in their respective programmes.
b) The contracts of the affected participants had come to an end on 31 March 2020.
c) The following public bodies were affected by the termination of the EPWP participants:
|
Provincial Departments |
Municipalities |
|
Gauteng Department of Health |
Sedibeng |
|
Gauteng Department of Education |
Merafong |
|
Gauteng Department of Community Safety (SAPS) |
Emfuleni |
|
Rand West |
|
|
West rand |
d) The public bodies affected were informed in advance, by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and Property Management,of the contracts ending on 31 March 2020. The public bodies were advised to recruit new participants to avoid disruption of services.