Public Sector Employment programme: Department of Public Works briefing

Meeting report

Update on Public Works Programmes: Department of Public Works briefing

Mr Stanley Henderson, Deputy Director General, Department of Public Works, tendered an apology for other members of the Department who were unable to be present.

The Chairperson noted this but asked that in future, should this happen, a formal letter must be tabled giving the person presenting full authority to present.

Mr Henderson noted that his presentation would give an analysis of the work of the Department of Public Works (DPW or the Department) for the second quarter, financial performance and integrated incentive grant performance, and detail the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) Third Summit, as well as summarising the programme on institutionalising the Project Execution Plan (PEP) Inter-ministerial Committee (IMC),  the challenges faced and measures put in place to address these challenges.

He noted that the EPWP had achieved 120% of its target of 522  760 work opportunities created in the second quarter. The programme was on track in terms of its targets in the 2014/2015 financial year.

The second quarter work opportunities recorded represented 10.5% of the overall target of 6 million jobs in phase 3. In the second quarter, 60% of the target for the 2014/2015 financial year had already been achieved.

All sectors except for the Community Work Programme (CWP) had reported over 50% achievement of the targeted work opportunities for the year.

He explained that while the job creation targets were met ,the full time equivalent jobs progress for the 2014-2015 year was not on track, as here only 33% of the annual target had been achieved. The provincial sphere overall had achieved their second quarter targets, when compared to the municipal sphere. In the infrastructure sector the majority of the provinces had achieved 50% of their provincial sphere work opportunities targets,  except for Free State, Gauteng and Northern Cape. Only KwaZulu Natal (KZN), Limpopo and Northern Cape managed to achieve 50% of their targets in the second quarter.

Overall, the programme achieved 55% of the target of jobs for women, 46% of the youth target and 1% for employing people with disabilities. The Environment and Culture sector was the only sector that had attained the 55% youth target and the non-State sector was the only sector that had attained the 2% people with disability target.

Mr Henderson reported that the majority of projects reported a minimum daily wage of more than the stipulated daily wage.  49% of the projects reported a minimum daily wage between R71 and R100. Most projects that reported a minimum daily wage under the stipulated daily wage were from the social sector, whilst others (between 2% and 3%) were in the other sectors.

Mr Henderson then set out the  expenditure of the Department. Compensation of employees was R85.8 million, 64% of the allocation for the EPWP. Goods and expenditure was R83.2 million. There had been transfers and subsidies of R1.4 billion of the budgeted R1.6 billion. There also has been expenditure of R1.2 million, or 42% of the allocated budget.

He noted that in November 2014, the DPW hosted the EPWP Summit, which was intended to ensure that the implementers from all spheres adhered to the objectives to accelerate the implementation of EPWP by all implementing bodies and to introduce EPWP phase 3 to all implementing bodies

The programme was faced with various challenges. These included:
- delays in the approval of the Terms of Reference for the PEP – IMC, by the Office of the Deputy President
- Non-attainment of persons with disability and youth targets
- Non-attainment of targets at the Further Education and Training sphere, due to shorter duration of work opportunities
- The fact that the social sector School Nutrition Programme was not adhering to minimum daily wage stipulated
- Poor reporting from the CWP

However, he indicated that the DPW had put measures in place to address the challenges. These were:
- a plan to engage with the Office of the Deputy President to fast track the approval of the Terms of Reference for the Inter Ministerial Committee
- Technical support was being provided to public bodies to help them implement their projects labour- intensively and to report effectively
- Engagements would be held with organisations that represented people with disabilities
- Technical improvements were planned to improve the EPWP

Discussion
Mr M Khawula(IFP, Kwa-Zulu Natal) wanted an explanation on  slides 7 and 14. Slide 7 seemed to indicated that the Department was not on target, but slide 14 maintained that it was.

Mr Henderson explained that slide 7 (the figures against which the Department was on track) represented the work opportunities created. Slide 14's figures were for the full time equivalent work opportunities created, and here the Department was not on track.

Mr Khawula asked about the impact of the programmes, particularly in cases where workers were stationed at one place for an entire year without any real improvements or impact. He also asked for comment on the lack of uniformity. Different teams seemed to start at  different times and some teams were equipped and have uniforms to wear while others were not. He also wanted to know if DPW had grants or if it was reliant on the conditional grants.

Mr Henderson answered that the impact of the jobs really depended on management, because the workers were employed (by management) for a certain period of time, which was dependent on the duration of the particular project. In terms of the starting times, the projects did not start at the same time but kick off at different times during the year, as decided by management after considering a number of factors. He also mentioned that there was research being done on the impact the programme was having. The DPW did have grants, and was not solely reliant on the conditional grants.

Mr S Mthimunye (ANC, Mpumalanga) wanted to know how the research on impact was conducted. He asked if the DPW was on track to reach the set target of 6 million jobs to be created by 2019. He also wanted to know how the project was managed and governed, as management had a great impact on the programme. He wanted to know if, after their involvement in a programme, the people in the programme would be able to enter the job market with sufficient skills and training.

Mr W Faber (DA, Northern Cape) pointed out that StatsSA had stated that one million jobs had been lost. If in fact EPWP had increased the number of jobs created, he asked if that also meant that South Africa had effectively lost a million jobs, to lessen those figures. He pointed out that the programme had been running for ten years. He also wanted to know if the skills acquired were sufficient for the people in the programme to then enter into and sustain themselves in the market. The country was spending a lot of money on social grants, which, if people were properly employed, could instead rather be spent on infrastructure. He enquired why, in particular, the Northern Cape was  under performing.

Mr Faber went on to say that slide 43 gave an indication of money allocated to the social sector School Nutrition Programme, but enquired why this money was not rather in the budget for the education cluster. He wanted clarity on why and how this project could straddle two budgets.

Mr Henderson said that there was poor reporting on the community work programmes, but one of the reasons was no doubt that the reports had to be submitted in English, which was not the native language of the communities. The other reason might be that the people involved were not quite sure of what to report. It would be helpful if a template was compiled, to act as a guideline.

Mr E Makue (ANC, Gauteng) thanked the Department, and said that he was aware of other organisations with similar programmes in place. He was willing to help Mr Henderson make contact with and forge connections with organisations. He also made the point that the creation of 6 million jobs was not just reliant on the Department of Public Works, but other sectors as well, and also the private sector. He expanded on some of the projects. One of the most impressive projects in Kwazulu Natal was one where the community manufactured coffins from invasive trees, removing that wood and leaving indigenous trees. Much could be learned from that project and implemented in other areas. He noted that the Gauteng Premier, Mr David Makhura, had committed to working much closer with the municipality and, as representative of the Gauteng province, he was willing to open communication lines where required with the Premier.

Mr Makue noted that slide 14 indicated that the EPWP had only met 33% of the target, and he thought it was unlikely that the targets would be reached through this programme. Many of the community projects had problems with old pipes and old electricity connections, similar to those that caused a fire at the University of Stellenbosch. He went on to suggest that the EPWP should be encouraged to approach this creatively and proactively.

He also commented that there was a low percentage on a range of social outreach programmes in the Northern Cape, which was  being currently addressed by the Department of Social Outreach. The DPW would do well to take up this point also, as the Northern Cape was one of the largest provinces in the country.

Dr Y Vawda (EFF, Mpumalanga) found that the Community Work Programme references on slide 8 were concerning. He also wanted to clarify whether the NPO funding allocated was done by the transfer of funds or whether by projects undertaken. He wanted further clarification on what the wage incentive meant that was mentioned on slide 19. A minimum wage of R71 a day,as indicated on slide 21, was not reasonable, given the average of only 20 working days.

Dr Vawda suggested that the people should be encouraged to report in their language of choice. He shared the view that the 6 million jobs would not be created, as only 200  000 part time jobs had been created thus far. He emphasised that the main objective should be to build state capacity with these programmes. He also wanted clarity on the maps on slide 25.

Ms M Dikgale (ANC, Limpopo) expressed the contrary viewpoint on the minimum daily payments, saying that although the payments were clearly not sufficient, it was at least something. In her province of Limpopo, the communities invested in infrastructure. With the little they had, they built houses, so that there was not a problem of large informal settlements that were found in the Western Cape. However, she thought that the DPW should try to find strategies to work towards permanent employment and increase of salaries.

Mr J Londt (DA, Western Cape) requested that the statistics be presented per municipality, so that the problem areas could be identified and so that perhaps less investment should be made in those municipalities. He also expressed that the National Youth development agency (NYDA) did not do much for the country, and, with an average of R1.6 million being paid in salaries to their top ten managers, he was not sure why money is still allocated to them.

The Chairperson suggested that the NYDA should be called in and asked to account for their funds.

Mr Londt fully agreed on the request that NYDA explain its budget.

Mr Henderson addressed the questions asked in general terms. He said that indeed research had been done and he would be happy to share it with the Committee. It was  important to have inter government arrangements, but the DPW did not want to establish duplicates of forums that were already established elsewhere. 

He said that the targets for the job creation was linked, in each case, to the funding that DPW received for each municipality. However, the DPW could provide a municipal breakdown, as requested. He was confident that the target of creating 6 million jobs by 2019 was still on course, and could be achieved. In regard to the StatsSA data, the unemployment rate had dropped slightly. The programme provided project-bound work opportunities and not permanent employment. The work was by its nature short term and so was not considered as "employment" by the StatSA statistics. The employment challenge could not be solved in the short term, but through this programme, many things had been done. In terms of sustainability, the programme should augment existing income and provide a safety net in an environment where the economy does not absorb a new labour market.

Mr Henderson agreed that the Northern Cape had under-performed and this may due to the fact that the programme paid the workers per hour, and that they worked only for a few hours per day preparing food for the scholars.

He also conceded that the reporting was problematic, because it had not been institutionalised by the implementing bodies. The DPW only provided technical support. The reporting was not done by the communities but by management, who had been trained to provide such reports and who were provided with a template.

Mr Henderson also said that the minimum wage was constrained by the budget.

In regard to the ageing infrastructure, the municipalities were trying to maintain the infrastructure by having a maintenance plan.

The Chairperson commented that there was not sufficient time at this meeting to cover everything. Some topics - such as that of funding - should be revisited.

The Chairperson noted that there was no women representation from the Department. He urged that the 2% of job opportunities created for people with disabilities should also be revisited.

Mr Makue was concerned that the Committee has only received reports from two of the six departments reporting to it in the current quarter. He said he would like to see more reports in the second quarter.

The Chairperson suggested that meetings should then commence earlier.

The meeting was adjourned.