Public Works Minister takes action against alleged political abuse in Matjhabeng's EPWP
Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson has halted all Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) fund transfers to the Matjhabeng Local Municipality.
This comes after a City Press investigation revealed that the municipality's EPWP payroll is allegedly being used to pay inflated salaries, over R31,000 per month , to former councillors and current political office bearers, more than ten times the average EPWP stipend.
Macpherson said the EPWP was never meant to serve as a vehicle for political patronage, but rather to provide short-term, skills-based work opportunities to unemployed South Africans.
He has now instructed the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to suspend all transfers to the municipality until a formal investigation is completed.
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