By Seshoane Masitha

PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki yesterday launched the Western's Cape Expanded Public Work Programme (EPWP) in Gugulethu where he invited all sectors of the society to support the programmes to improve people's lives.

The provincial government and the City of Cape Town will spend approximately R5.9 billion over the next five years on what has been named "Saamstaan", or stand together, in a bid to create jobs and offer skills training for the unemployed. Within the Saamstaan projects an estimated R195 million will be spent to upgrade the Gansbaai-Bredasdorp Road expected to create jobs for 1 000 local unemployed youth and women.

About R3.7 million has been budgeted for nine building maintenance programmes, as well as the Zenzele Road Maintenance Programme, which will generate 1967 employment opportunities.

Forty labour intensive emerging contractor learnerships are currently registered with the EPWP. This includes 20 learnerships for the road maintenance programme and 20 for the Klipfontein Corridor President Mbeki also said government and the people needed to work jointly to respond to the challenges of unemployment and poverty facing the country.

"There is no one who is going to come from anywhere else in the world to help us overcome our problems, we must overcome them ourselves...as a people we must work together and also take initiatives" President Mbeki said.

He said the EPWP was government's way to try to provide resources for people to improve infrastructure and their lives. President Mbeki added that Western Cape Premier Ibrahim Rasool would report regularly to the people of the province about progress made on EPWP projects.

"Government at all its levels will keep to its promises for work and training to be done and for new business to come out of these processes, so that five years down the line we are able to say the lives of our people are better now than they were five years ago," he said.

Rasool said the EPWP would help overcome divisions in the province, while creating jobs and fighting poverty. "This gathering shows that national, provincial and local governments can work together under a common leadership, this has shown that all government departments can work together if there is a common call and a common commitment to deliver our mandate of creating jobs and fighting poverty," he said. He praised the community for embracing the programme, adding that 22 000 people were already benefiting from the EPWP.

Public Works Minister Stella Siqcau said government would monitor and evaluate progress made in the implementation of the EPWP. "Our contract with the people of this country is to demonstrate responsive governance and reveal the side of government that cares," she said.
Source: BuaNews