Central SA
Matjhabeng EPWP funds to be released after investigation─── ZENANDE MPAME 12:44 Mon, 18 Aug 2025
The minister of public works and infrastructure has ordered funds to be released to all Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) transfers to the Welkom-based Matjhabeng Municipality after the conclusion of an investigation.
The findings of the investigation were released by Minister Dean Macpherson on Sunday (17/8), confirming that all EPWP integrated grant funds for 2023/24 and 2024/25 were fully accounted for and spent on approved projects.
The municipality committed to launching a thorough internal investigation into the matter, and the report will be submitted to the relevant provincial MECs.
Funding was suspended by the minister on Sunday, 27 July, due to allegations that three former ward councillors and a current ward secretary earned R31,691 per month from the programme.
“The individuals referenced in media reports are not EPWP participants and are not paid from the EPWP integrated grant,” said minister of public works spokesperson James de Villiers.
“They are instead part of an EPWP support unit created by the municipality in February 2024, housed in the mayor’s office and funded entirely through the municipal budget.”
While these officials’ salaries are significantly higher than the EPWP stipend, their contracts are municipal appointments linked to the executive mayor’s term and fall outside of the EPWP framework, he said.
Allegations of abuse of the EPWP funds were questioned by the portfolio committee on cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) when they visited the province to address persistent governance and financial underperformance in the province’s municipalities.
Matjhabeng was one of 16 municipalities that appeared before parliament members to answer for financial mismanagement, governance failures, and service delivery issues.
The municipality expressed its concern when the funding was suspended. “Such a decision has significant implications for many of our residents who rely on the EPWP for temporary employment and essential income support,” said spokesperson Tshediso Tlali.
“A team of senior officials from the department of public works and infrastructure travelled to Matjhabeng Municipality to conduct an on-the-ground verification of records and payments,” said De Villiers.
“The investigation revealed the grant allocations for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years were fully spent on approved projects, creating a total of 373 and 751 work opportunities, respectively.”
