The focal point of the case study is based on the Expanded Public Works Program (EPWP) as one of the initiatives agreed at the Growth and Development Summit (GDS) in June 2003. Bearing in mind that most of the unemployed are unskilled, relatively unskilled employment opportunities are important. This case study sought to understand the conceptualization and operation of the EPWP in eThekwini Municipality.
It sought to determine the extent to which the beneficiaries of the EPWP have been able to maintain decent jobs after the implementation of the EPWP in the municipality.
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
- The problem statement
- Objectives of the study
- Research methods
- Key research questions
- Limitations of the study
Since most unemployed people are unskilled, the EPWP's emphasis is on relatively unskilled employment opportunities. Although the EPWP was designed in response to the structural nature of the unemployment problem, it focuses exclusively on short-term employment opportunities. This case study aims to understand the conceptualization and operation of the EPWP in eThekwini Municipality.
Were the recipients of the EPWP able to maintain decent work after the implementation phase.
CONCLUSION
LITERATURE REVIEW
- INTRODUCTION
- A BRIEF REVIEW OF EPWP AND ITS SITUATIONAL CONTEXT
- EXPANDED PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMME AS A POVERTY
- Conceptual underpinnings
- Objectives of the EPWP
- Targets of EPWP
- Funding of the programme
- Monitoring and Evaluation
- CONCLUSION
The EPWP was initiated in 2003 to attract a significant number of the unemployed into productive work, so that workers acquire skills while working and thus increase their capacity to earn income (Hemsom, 2007a). It is important to state that prior to the initiation of the EPWP, the South African Government placed emphasis on the Public Works Program (PWP). Each uses a different conceptualization of public works and has different institutional implications, while having a common ground in terms of providing employment with some form of social protection objective.
The final draft of the Sectoral Plan for Infrastructure indicates that EPWP has been identified as a strategic PWP intervention designed to make a significant contribution to reducing unemployment and providing livelihoods to the poor, women, youth and People with Disabilities. The author further defines it as a nationwide program that will attract significant numbers of unemployed people into productive work, so that workers acquire skills while they work, thereby increasing their ability to earn an income. The aim of the EPWP is to create employment and training for at least one million targeted unemployed people in the first five years of its operation (EPWP, 2005).
For this reason, the funds that had been allocated to the Department of Public Works for the Community Based Public Works Program (CBPWP) were redistributed to the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) to be included in the allocations of municipal infrastructure grants to municipalities (Phillips explains , that the achievement of job creation programs is conventionally measured in terms of their impact on the happiness of beneficiaries and participants while they are enrolled in the program and/or after they have left it. In the former case, PWPs are reviewed in terms of their immediate impact on the participants and their macroeconomic impact on employment and unemployment, while in the latter case the performance of the program is reviewed in terms of the employment and earnings experience of the participants after leaving the program (McCord et al., 2007:7) As such, the international good practice based on one of the prevailing views of program success adopted elsewhere.
Consequently, it is difficult to assess the impact of the program empirically, and to compare EPWP performance with that of other PWPs (except by adopting simple measures such as scale and likely impact, assessed based on program design analysis and the labor market context) ( McCord et al point out, the EPWP is a conceptually complex PWP whose set of objectives requires the implementation of several different forms of PWP.Furthermore, there should be a common conceptual understanding of the program's objectives from the outset.
OPERATIONAL PROCESS OF EPWP AT eTHEKWINI
- INTRODUCTION
- OVERVIEW OF THE ETHEKWINI EPWP PROGRAMME
- EPWP Coordination
- ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY’S EPWP POLICY
- OBJECTIVES OF ETHEKWINI’S EPWP
- PROVISIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EPWP
- Inclusion of EPWP in Cluster Plans
- Municipal Capital Budget
- Grants and achievements
- CHALLENGES
- CONCLUSION
EThekwini's Expanded Public Works Program Policy reveals that each cluster will develop and be responsible for implementing their individual sector plans and ensure EPWP compliance against the respective national sector EPWP guidelines. According to eThekwini Municipality's EPWP policy, municipal capital budgets and operation and maintenance budgets must reflect the identified EPWP projects, targeted for five years of the multi-year municipal budgets in incremental percentages as suggested in Table 3.2. Maintenance budgets, "the intention is to take existing best practice community-based operations and maintenance partnerships/programmes and extend them to other sectors, but include formal accredited training to maximize business/economic growth potential".
At the time of starting projects, the eThekwini Municipality was uncertain about deposit amounts and was concerned that it had not received any manual or audit guidelines for the allocation. Elements of the project included the construction and maintenance of the 60 kilometer long routes between KwaXimba and Inanda; host the Duzi Mfula annual cycling event; eNanda Adventures trail center and picnic spot at KwaQadi, and Isithumba Adventure Sport Center at KwaXimba. 25 The purpose of the Standing Committee's overview visit to KwaZulu-Natal was to identify best practices that can be used to guide other provinces in this regard.
The Committee visited several sites proposed by the Province of KwaZulu-Natal to obtain first-hand information on the implementation of the grant, as well as to communicate with beneficiaries at these sites. Mthembu (2009:2) also states that despite the fact that the UOWP Social Sector draft business plan was approved in 2007, and that UOWP projects were subsequently included in the IDP and Plan 4 SDBIP for budget allocation, no budget was ever provided for UOWP not awarded. Social Sector projects in the 2008/2009 financial year. 26 provided in the SDBIP 2009/2010 financial year for some of the projects, it was again not linked to the IDP to ensure that budget was allocated.
From the above findings, it is clear that eThekwini Municipality has the potential to make a modest contribution to job creation through its EPWP – a need prioritized by the President himself when he declared the Year of Job Creation to encourage skills development and reduce poverty. The main challenge facing the municipality is to ensure that the current EPWP targets are met.
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
INTRODUCTION
STATEMENT AND HIGHLIGHTS OF RESULTS
- Reliability
- Demographics
- Analysis of questions
The researcher needed to understand the extent to which various participants understood the concept of the UOWP and its role. All the respondents (100%) identified that EPWP was a government initiative aimed at job creation and poverty reduction. It was also necessary to determine the frequency with which jobs were allocated as well as the nature of the jobs.
Approximately 90% of respondents agreed that at least five offers had been made in the past financial year. A quarter of the contracts were for 18 months and only 12.5% of the jobs created ran for a year. This is because the purpose of the EPWP is to use public sector budgets to reduce unemployment by developing temporary productive employment opportunities combined with training (See also Phillips, 2004:7).
As shown in Figure 4.5, approximately 40% of respondents indicated that the objectives had only been partially achieved because financial constraints and limited resources had negatively affected them. Therefore, an overwhelming 60% believed that eThekwini Municipality's EPWP targets had not been met. Because the EPWP is not a permanent mainstream program of the municipality, it is not part of the organizational chart.
They indicated that it was unlikely that they would be able to hold jobs beyond the implementation of the EPWP. Generally, those people we were lucky enough to employ under the program only worked for the duration of the project at R90.00 per day. Some of the failures and successes of the program in terms of long-term sustainability are given in Figure 4.7.
Some of the suggestions given by the respondents to promote job creation are given in Table 4.4.
CONCLUSION
36 The focus group discussions also showed that the municipality does not have a database of all the people who participated in the EPWP. The database would be useful to trace those who may need to be prioritized for recruitment in future projects. Beneficiaries could list EPWP as a previous employer simply to demonstrate to prospective employers that they have a certain level of work experience.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
- INTRODUCTION
- SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
- RECOMMENDATIONS
- CONCLUSION
- Tenders awarded under the EPWP in the last financial year
- Duration of employment in specific project under the EPWP
- EPWP targets set by eThekwini municipality
- Achievement of EPWP target
- Employment sustainability
- Successes and failures of EPWP in terms of sustainability
- eThekwini EPWP funding
- Case Processing Summary
- Reliability statistics
- Tenders awarded under the EPWP in the last financial year
- Respondent's suggestions on how the EPWP could improve employability of
38 The fact that 40% of the respondents stated that the goals were partially achieved shows that the municipality has not fully achieved its goals. From a sustainability perspective, about 40% of respondents indicated that the beneficiaries of the program were able to maintain decent jobs afterwards. As a result, the policy response must address the type of unemployment prevailing in the labor market.
Communication: Senior leaders and government departments (national, provincial, district and local) need to realign their responsibilities and align their roles to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of the EPWP. Therefore, it is important that the municipality reconsiders the duration of employment contracts in order for EPWP recipients to achieve a longer duration. Unions: Local unions should be involved to ensure that only legitimate EPWP recipients benefit from the program and that the municipality adheres to EPWP objectives.
One of these is the development of the Expanded Public Work Program, the main purpose of which is to create short-term employment for the unemployed. The main focus of this study has been the impact of the EPWP in the eThekwini Municipality. EThekwini's Enhanced Public Works Program Policy provides for interventions in each of the four sectors mentioned in the national policy, namely the infrastructure sector, the environment/tourism and culture sector, the social sector and the economic sector.
From the research study, it is clear that the targets of the eThekwini EPWP have not been achieved for a number of reasons, including budgetary and administrative constraints. A Study of the Impact of Expanded Public Works Program on Job Creation in the Zululand District Municipality.
QUESTIONNAIRE
ETHICAL CLEARANCE
