Communities in the Free State are being encouraged to take part in continuing community consultation sessions on the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) strategy by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI).
These public sessions are a part of a larger public consultation process the department is putting in place to get South Africans’ opinions on how the nation should approach the EPWP.
“We encourage every member of the public in the Free State to attend these meetings in order to provide their feedback on this policy. We emphasise the importance of their input in the creation of this policy for its enrichment.
Lungisani Dladla, the National EPWP Coordinator at DPWI, said that “their viewpoint is part of a vital process for participatory democracy.”
Dladla is a member of the DPWI team in charge of implementing these public consultation events throughout the Free State.
All districts in the Free State will organise these public consultation events.
The following locations will host the community consultation on the EPWP policy:
• On September 21, 2022, in the Welkom – Thabong Indoor Sports Center in Thabong.
• Bloemfontein – Batho Community Hall on September 23, 2022, at Batho Location in Mangaung.
Beginning on Monday in Bloemfontein, the community engagement sessions for the EPWP were attended by representatives from many provincial agencies.
The Kroonstad community was consulted on the policy on Tuesday by the DPWI authorities. Council members from the Moqhaka Local Municipality, Metsimaholo Local Municipality authorities, and non-profit organisations from several communities in
the province as well as residents of the Kroonstad neighbourhood.
Selaocwe Kabelo, the province’s deputy director for EPWP Enterprise Development, said that the policy would help the government speak with a unified voice on EPWP-related issues.
Karabo Malebese, Deputy Director for EPWP National Youth Service, Rose Dichakane, Manager of EPWP Training in the province, Julia Seitheisho, Deputy Director: Environment and Culture, Mahlodi Sebola, Deputy Director: EPWP Technical Support, and Thapelo Sedupane, Deputy Director: EPWP Social Sector are some of the managers overseeing the implementation of these public consultations in the Free Ste.
One of the government’s medium- to long-term objectives to eliminate unemployment and relieve poverty involves adopting labor-intensive techniques to create job opportunities.
Four sectors—infrastructure, social, environment & culture, and non-State—are involved in the EPWP’s implementation.
The initiative is anticipated to be implemented throughout all branches of government and state-owned businesses.
Working on projects like the Community Work Programme, Early Childhood Development Programmes, Home Community Based Care Programmes, Extra School Support Programmes, Working on Fire, Working for Water, and Roads Maintenance Projects, among others, is part of the EPWP.
The participants have a higher opportunity of entering the formal employment market and/or starting their own businesses thanks to the numerous skills and training they gain via the EPWP.