Over 90 000 recruits left in turmoil as Lesufi's Nasi iSpani programme collapses
27 June 2024
Thousands of Gauteng residents, employed through Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s Nasi iSpani programme, will now face the hardship of unemployment as the poorly planned job programme crumbles due to a lack of funding, as reported by the Departments of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environmental Affairs, Education and Community Safety.
In a memo dated 25 June 2024, signed by the Acting Head of the Department for Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environmental Affairs, Green Army EPWP participants are informed that their contractual agreement with the department has ended on 31 May 2024. Furthermore, the memo states that there will be delays in the payment of stipends for the work completed by participants in June because of “administrative and systematic procedures”.
See the attached memo from the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environmental Affairs here.
Furthermore, the Department of Education also issued a memo on 12 June 2024, reminding the Gauteng Youth Brigade programme employees that their contracts end on 30 June 2024. However, the department also issued a retraction on 19 June 2024, stating that new information regarding the status of the programme will be communicated before the reopening of schools.