City of Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga says the newly re-launched Expanded Public Works Programme will be fair, transparent and inclusive. He was speaking in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria where he outlined new changes to the programme.
Msimanga says the aim is to promote the creation of labour intensive work opportunities in order to reduce the triple challenges of unemployment, inequality and poverty in the City of Tshwane.
Shortly after talking to media about the re-launch of the Expanded Public Works Programme Tshwane mayor, Solly Msimanga, met with a dissatisfied employee of the programme.
Employees currently on the programmes called on the mayor to consider them for permanent employment when their contracts end in the new-year.
Thulile Ndlovu speaks on behalf of the temporary employees.
“When time comes for permanent employment we are not considered, because they tell us no ‘you are not employed by Tshwane’, but if they want us, these pamphlets are delivered by us. So we want the executive mayor tell us that no that ‘you are just being used’, so that we know. You can’t grow old working on contracts and they are telling us that the contract ends in January. What must happen? We have been working in this programme for past ten years. So they must give us clarity as to what is going to happen to us, because when you go there, they say you are a government employee, you are registered for UIF.”
Others also had their say, “We are well trained. We know everything about the municipality. Our responsibilities include indigent people’s register, Health and also electricity.”
The mayor says the aim is to promote the creation of labour intensive work opportunities in order to reduce the triple challenges of unemployment, inequality and poverty in the City of Tshwane.
Msimanga called on all unemployed people in the city of Tshwane to take the opportunity to register on the database, so that they can be considered when vacancies become available.
“Now what we’re doing is we’re going to the communities and we are saying to them, we’re asking them to come and register to be on the Tshwane database so that when those opportunities become available we are then able to then employ them using the a transparent and fair process. So we are looking at employing 23 000 EPWP workers as of January come next year. So that process is going to mean that we’re asking all unemployed people between the ages of 18 and 60 to register themselves onto our database.”
