Public Works and Minister of Infrastructure Dean Macpherson has suspended the Funds Public Works Program (EPWP) programs for the Matjhabeng municipality in the Free State pending investigations into alleged politics associated with blown salaries through the program.
City press Reported that the EPWP of the municipality pays blown salaries to former councilors and sitting political office holders, in which others earn more than R31,000 a month – 10 times more than the average EPWP -Stipendium.
The EPWP offers the unemployed, especially young people, with temporary employment opportunities, while they rest skills to be deployable. Participants receive a stipendium.
Macpherson said that the program was not a “vehicle for patronage”.
“The EPWP is an essential lifeline for many in communities throughout the country, also in Matjhabeng, and it would be unacceptable if a politician or official used the program for personal benefit,” he said.
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