Hundreds of EPWP workers axed as Buffalo City halts programme

Dozens, potentially hundreds, of temporary employees hired under the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) by Buffalo City metro municipality may face dismissal as the municipality terminated their contracts at the end of August. The decision, announced in an August 13 letter from general manager Qaphela Mpotulo, required the cessation of all EPWP activities and contracts by August 31.

However, confusion persists over whether these workers will be compensated for completed tasks or receive their August salaries. Mpotulo instructed that no EPWP workers should report for duty starting September 1 unless attached to authorized projects. The directive also mandated a comprehensive review of the EPWP program, exploring current projects, participant assignments, contractual agreements, approvals, deliverables, and expenditures.

The goal, according to Mpotulo, is to ensure compliance with legislation, ministerial instructions, and municipal policies while improving governance, oversight, and execution.

Insiders estimate the number of affected workers to be in the hundreds, if not thousands. While the municipality claims the move stems from compliance concerns, ANC insiders suggest deeper political motives. One anonymous regional source alleges the dismissals are politically motivated, aimed at eliminating support for mayor Princess Faku ahead of the ANC’s regional conference.

Faku has been accused of manipulating nomination processes for the upcoming local elections to favor her faction. Critics, such as deputy chair Malibongwe Mfazwe, claim they were marginalized. Mfazwe was placed last on the party's PR list despite receiving nominations from 13 branches.

DA leader Sue Bentley revealed that in wards 1 and 10, approximately 500 colored youths were hired under the EPWP, potentially as part of an ANC vote-buying strategy. Bentley noted that allegations linking Faku to vote-buying within the ANC "make sense" and cited delays in organizing the regional conference due to factional disputes.

The municipality maintains that the EPWP program lacked proper approval, labeling the termination as a corrective action to address irregular and wasteful expenditure. The dismissal of workers, occurring months before local elections, has sparked suspicions that the decision is more about internal party shifts than compliance.