Jozi@Work is a programme with a budget of R1-billion to pay community-based enterprises or co-operatives for services rendered. It is designed to create opportunities for communities to partner with the City in the delivery of municipal services in their own neighbourhoods, and turn job seekers into job creators in a bid to aid socio-economic transformation that will reduce poverty, inequality and unemployment across the City.
According to Samwu, the project would see the delivery of municipal services by co-operatives instead of municipalities – which is the legal entity for the delivery of basic services in the country.
Samwu spokesperson, Papikie Mohale, said when the project was launched last year, they were worried that municipalities would no longer fill vacancies, which are at an unacceptable level, the consequence of which would be a sharp increase in the unemployment rate and the deterioration of the standard of services provided by municipalities.
Mohale said, “We are, therefore, not surprised, but disgusted, by the levels of corruption involving a R52-million tender awarded to the Waste Group, which is supposed to facilitate the project on behalf of the City.
“It makes no sense that the City would even consider paying so much money to a company for mere facilitation, while the people who will be doing the job are paid peanuts, contrary to the fortunes made by the facilitators.”
He alleged that the project was undoubtedly a vehicle for corruption. Mohale claimed the chief drivers of this gravy train argued that the project would ‘turn the minds of job seekers into job creators’, despite their knowledge that co-operatives would in no way create entrepreneur opportunities for ordinary people, but rather create an elite.
“Just like labour brokering, this type of arrangement seeks to maximise profits for the elites and politically-connected comrades, while exploiting workers at all costs. This project is in no way different to the controversial Extended Public Works Programme which Samwu remains opposed to,” he said.
Mohale added that the two projects were really the privatisation of municipal services and should be treated as such. He said they were exploitative and could not be considered as employment or opportunities because people were only given temporary work, despite government’s claims to have created jobs.
Meanwhile, City spokesperson Nthatise Modingoane said this was a “hand-up, not a hand-out programme”. He said co-operatives were paid for work done and was linked to results. “This has been clearly explained to communities throughout the promotion and activation of the programme, and is clearly spelt out in the service level agreement each co-operative and micro-enterprise has to sign,” he said.
Modingoane said the project was working precisely as designed. He said, “There is no evidence of corruption or of any misconduct of the Waste Group in its role as a Capability Support Agent.”
Share your views on the City’s ‘hand-up not hand-out programme’ by tweeting @MidrandReporter
