Central SA
Matjhabeng EPWP fund transfers suspended amid allegations─── ZENANDE MPAME 06:00 Mon, 28 Jul 2025
The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure has called for an immediate stop to all Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) transfers to the municipality, pending a full investigation into the reported abuse.
Allegations of abuse of the EPWP funds were questioned by the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) on Friday (25/7) at the Windmill Casino in Bloemfontein.
Documents and payslips have made rounds on social media of councillors and party officials earning more than R31,000 from the programme.
The mayor of Matjhabeng, Thanduxolo Khalipha, requested time to investigate the allegations and would come back to the portfolio committee with a report on the issues of the EPWP.
“The EPWP programme is an essential lifeline for many communities across the country, including Matjhabeng Municipality,” said Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson.
“It would therefore be wholly unacceptable if any politician or official is found to have used the programme for personal benefit. We simply cannot turn a blind eye when serious allegations of abuse are raised.
“This is why I have instructed the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to immediately suspend EPWP fund transfers to the municipality until a formal investigation can be completed,” he said.
Members of Parliament, including three parliamentary committees, the Portfolio Committee CoGTA, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), and the Standing Committee on the Auditor General, led by the Chairperson of COGTA, Dr Zweli Mkhize, visited the province to address persistent governance and financial underperformance in the province’s municipalities.
Matjhabeng Municipality was one of the 16 municipalities that appeared before parliament members to account for its financial mismanagement, governance failures, and service delivery issues.
“The EPWP programme was established to provide short-term, skills-based work opportunities to unemployed South Africans, not as a vehicle for political patronage,” said Macpherson.
“These allegations further reinforce my view that the EPWP must be reformed to eliminate any possibility of abuse and ensure that intended beneficiaries fully benefit from the programme, free from political interference.”
City Press reports that three former ward councillors earn R31,691 per month from the programme, and one current ward secretary earns the same amount. These payslips are issued under the EPWP department code 0690 and reflect the Matjhabeng Local Municipality’s official payroll address.
