Cogta says it had no choice but to end contracts of older CWP participants

The Department of Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs (Cogta) has stated that it has no choice but to reduce the number of participants in the Community Work Programme (CWP) due to budget cuts imposed by the National Treasury.

It has decided to terminate contracts for CWP participants, saying it was necessary to prevent further unauthorised expenditure.

Currently, the programme employs more than 255 000 people across the country.

Cogta’s R400m budget cut

However, the department noted that a significant budget reduction of R400 million has severely impacted its ability to sustain the programme.

“This significant budget reduction severely impacts the department’s ability to sustain the current payment of stipends, training, tools, and materials, as well as personal protective clothing for over 255 000 participants. The department is already overspending, and this threatens the payment of stipends for February and March 2025,” it stated.

Participants were informed that their last working day would be in December 2024 and that they should not report for duty in the new year.

According to a circular, the CWP will officially end on 31 January 2025, with final payments to participants scheduled for 25 January.

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Hlabisa says CWP participants ‘not employed permanently’

In an SABC News interview, Cogta Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa defended the decision, explaining that participants are not employed permanently but are instead enrolled to acquire skills.

“These people are not employed on a permanent basis. They are employed to acquire skills and exit the programme once they have acquired the skills to run their own businesses or seek other employment opportunities,” he said.

Hlabisa also emphasised the legal limitations on the department’s spending.

“The law does not allow the department to spend money it doesn’t have. Attempts were made in April to release participants aged 60 and above, as most received a pension grant, but this could not be implemented. Another attempt was made in September, but there wasn’t enough time to notify the employees. To ensure payment sustainability, we prioritised exiting participants aged 50 and above, allowing them to apply for pension grants, with some of them already receiving it.”

Older CWP participants ‘often unemployable’

Civic movement Save South Africa criticised the decision, with Communications Director Tebogo Mashilompane highlighting the impact on older CWP participants.

“One of the biggest challenges with terminating contracts based on age is that individuals aged 55 and above are often unemployable. They were already receiving minimal stipends, making it impossible to save for the future. This decision is insensitive and ignores the plight of the poor,” Mashilompane said.

He urged the minister to reconsider. “If Cabinet has ministers over the age of 70, why is a 55-year-old deemed unfit to work? The willingness of such individuals to work under these conditions shows how dire the unemployment crisis is.”

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Matthew Parks, Cosatu’s parliamentary coordinator, warned of the consequences for affected participants.

“This decision will plunge these individuals into extreme poverty. In an economy with a 41.9% unemployment rate, they will struggle to find alternative employment,” Parks said.

He said the government needs to find alternative solutions.

“We need a discussion with the government about a new local government model because, right now, many municipalities are on the verge of bankruptcy. Many of them use these community work programmes as a way of outsourcing permanent work to what has become cheap labour.”

He highlighted the need for public employment programmes that provide skills, fair wages, and pathways to permanent employment.

“There has to be an immediate solution to support these individuals while we work on longer-term strategies. These participants should be integrated into municipal structures and not simply just fed off to below minimum wage salaries,” Parks added.

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