NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION 1131
WRITTEN REPLY 11 SEPTEMBER 2009
1131. Rev K R J Meshoe (ACDP) to ask the Minister of Public Works:
Whether the 500 000 jobs envisaged by December 2009 include temporary job
opportunities; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) how
many permanent jobs have been created so far as compared to temporary job
opportunities and (b) in which sectors? NO1284E
Reply
a) The goal of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) in Phase 2 is to
create 4.5 million work opportunities for poor and unemployed people in
South Africa so as to contribute to halving unemployment by 2014, through
the delivery of public and community services.
The 500 000 target set for December 2009 will include both short and
ongoing work opportunities for the unemployed, while ensuring that workers
gain skills while they work and increase their capacity to earn an income
in future. Due to the nature of EPWP projects in some sectors, work
opportunities will inevitably vary in duration, e.g. a low volume road that
is built over a period of 8-9 months. In the Social Sector, however, a
work opportunity could be for two years and longer.
The first quarter results, i.e. for the period April to June 2009 indicate
that more than 83 900 work opportunities have thus far been reported. The
figure is very conservative and reflects poor and under-reporting on active
projects across all three spheres of government.
The Minister has engaged and signed protocols that confirm the 500 000
December 2009 targets, as well as the five year targets for provinces and
municipalities, with the Premiers and MECs of 8 out of 9 provinces. DPW
technical teams have also been giving support to provinces and
municipalities to ensure that the creation of work opportunities is
prioritised in the design and implementation of projects across government.
b) The total number of work opportunities created under the programme for
the 1st quarter is outlined in the table below per sector.
Table 1: NET jobs per sector against total target for 2009-10
(1 Apr 2009 â 30 June 2009)
|Sector |Targeted work opportunities|No |% of |
| |[WO] for Year 1 (Apr 2008 â| |targeted |
| |March 2009) | |WO |
|Infrastructure |300 000 |59,579|20 |
|Environment |150 000 |13,960|9 |
|Social |80 000 |7,466 |9 |
|Non-state |20 000 |2,909 |15 |
|Total |550 000 |83,914|15 |