Central SA
Claims EPWP workers forced to serve North West politician investigated─── KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 09:22 Wed, 05 Nov 2025
An investigation has been launched into allegations EPWP workers in Bojanala district municipality were forced to do domestic chores for a mayoral committee member and pay her party’s membership fees.
Minister of public works and infrastructure Dean Macpherson has directed officials from his department to urgently verify the allegations. If true, they represent a serious abuse of power and a betrayal of public trust, he said.
“These reports are deeply disturbing and contrary to the very purpose of the EPWP, which was intended to be a programme intended to create dignified, skills-based work opportunities for unemployed South Africans,” said Macpherson.
The department would take immediate action should the allegations be confirmed, he added. “If these claims are true, they represent a serious abuse of power and a betrayal of public trust.
“The EPWP was created to empower communities, not to serve anyone’s personal or political interests, which is why I have requested departmental officials to work with their provincial counterparts in the North West as well as the Bojanala … to verify the allegations and determine whether national EPWP funds were misused and if the recruitment policy was abused.”
Any individual found to have benefited improperly would face swift and appropriate action, including possible criminal referral, he warned. “There will be zero tolerance for any misuse of this programme as public money must never be used to advance private gain.”
Incidents such as those alleged in Bojanala are why he embarked on a nationwide EPWP listening tour over the past year to hear community concerns and ensure the programme fulfils its mission of empowerment rather than exploitation. He was committed to reforming the EPWP to root out corruption and abuse, ensuring participants receive meaningful skills transfers and real pathways to permanent employment.
EPWP operations nationwide are coming under scrutiny. Earlier this year, a Free State municipality made headlines when Macpherson suspended its EPWP funds following revelations that a ward secretary and three former ward councillors were drawing R31,691 a month from the programme.
The portfolio committee on cooperative governance and traditional affairs also raised concerns about widespread misuse of EPWP funds during its oversight visit to the province, where it addressed persistent issues of financial underperformance and governance failures. Matjhabeng was among 16 municipalities summoned to parliament to account for financial mismanagement and service delivery challenges.
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