The investigation of the management of expanded public works programme (EPWP) towards job creation in Polokwane Local Municipality, Limpopo Province

Abstract

The introduction of privatisation after 1994 has left many people in Polokwane without employment. The majority of the jobs were given to few people who always provide services through tenders. Most of the departments were no longer hiring people because of the tendering process. The process has made many departments and municipalities to absorb labour force in the public sector. Due to lack of employment in different regions in Limpopo, the provincial Department of Public Works has started an Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) to alleviate poverty in the province. However, the management of these projects became a problem to most of the government officials in the municipalities, provincial departments and municipalities are fraught with challenges such as lack of managerial traits, technical and skills related to project management. Polokwane local municipality is not excluded from the above problems, hence the study on the investigation of the management of EPWP towards job creation in Polokwane local municipality. In order to understand the total context of the managerial flaws faced by Polokwane local municipality in Limpopo an in-depth empirical research and interviews were conducted to collect data from government official and employees in the study area. The finding of the study suggests that lack of managerial traits, technical skills, lack of participation, non-compliance with work ethics, monitoring and evaluation were regarded as the greatest challenges in the management of EPWP in Polokwane local municipality. Due to the above challenges, most of the projects are not completed on time because of the lack of qualified project managers. Lack of qualified personnel also contributed to poor quality of service delivery in the area of the study. The study revealed that the projects can alleviate poverty if can be managed and implemented by qualified managers and employees with relevant skills. Therefore, the study calls for the Department of Public Works to appoint qualified and experienced civil engineers to monitor and evaluate the implementation of EPWP projects in Polokwane local municipality.