EFF statement on the failures of the Community Works Programme
8 June 2023
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) notes another failed programme by the ANC government - the Community Works Programme (CWP). The CWP, since its pilot in 2007, has made no material impact in spite of its R4.3 billion budget.
The CWP was instituted in order to provide a safety net for young South Africans seeking employment, to gain experience while job searching and to also have financial assistance while doing so. Additionally, the programme was meant to improve service delivery and public assets in poorer communities.
However, the ANC Government continues in its repetitive failures in addressing the following issues:
- Participants are getting older in this programme without getting any further opportunities;
- Locals are often paid low wages;
- Majority of the workers in the programme are employed by companies that have contracts with the state, which do not employ them on a full-time basis with benefits, leaving vulnerable workers to exploitation;
- Frequent failures to pay the CWP stipends on time, without mitigating measures put in place to deal with this inconvenience;
- Many workers have complained about not being allowed to take leave even when they produce evidence about their medical conditions or urgent family bereavements;
- The workers are not only exploited, but threatened that they are replaceable and participation in the programme is a favour to them.
Notwithstanding the R4.3-billion budget, participants training has not yielded envisaged result in regards to the unemployment, underemployment, and total exploitation of the workers. There is no clear destination for some participants of the CWP whose training does not speak to the economic realities of the country.
We are therefore headed for unemployable but trained young people when there are already 4,9 million unemployed youth in South Africa. In fact, during the period the CWP has been in effect, youth unemployment has increased from 52,5% in 2017 to the current 62, 1%.
Furthermore, the programme has been embroiled in corruption, as all ANC led initiatives. The Auditor General has made scathing remarks about the department making payments to non-qualified government employees as part of the CWP, while also identifying payments to deceased individuals. We are yet to receive the report on any consequences related to these corrupt activities by the department's officials.
As the incoming government in 2024, the EFF will use the R4,3 billion budget to enact the following:
- Train young people according to the skills needed in relation to municipal communities' needs;
- Link retired artisans and engineers with young people in the form of a mentorship programme to improve the level of youth training programmes;
- Insource all participants of youth programmes, and provide them with a salary that meets living standards;
- Provide rebates and taxes for companies that provide 200 jobs or more.
To this end, poverty and inequalities must be urgently dealt with, so register to vote for the EFF to improve the material conditions in your homes and communities.
Issued by Sinawo Thambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 8 June 2023
