Lesufi denies end of 'Green Army' employment programme
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has denied reports that the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) Green Army programme is to be discontinued.
The programme employs thousands of people in the province.
Lesufi's denial comes after a leaked internal memo dated 25 June, signed by the Acting Head of the Department for Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environmental Affairs, informing the Green Army EPWP participants that their contracts will end on 31 May.
The memo also said there would be delays in the payment of stipends due to administrative and systematic procedures.
Last year, Premier Lesufi launched a 'Nasi ispani' programme aimed at creating thousands of jobs.
Opposition parties, however, slammed the programme and accused Lesufi of using it to electioneer ahead of the 2024 elections.
The one-year Green Army EPWP programme was launched in May 2023, and have since recruited 6,000 beneficiaries to assist communities in establishing food gardens and cleaning.
“At the end of the sixth administration we established a task team to take stock of all the contracts that were coming to an end," Lesufi said in a statement on Thursday.
"Since being elected as the premier in the seventh administration, a report was presented and adopted on how we would manage the contracts that are coming to an end.
“We wish to allay all Nasi iSpani beneficiaries’ fears that this groundbreaking initiative is still very much intact, we remain resolute in our endeavour to address the challenge of unemployment in our province,” he added.
However, DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga claimed the programme is crumbling due to a lack of funding.
"The DA has, since the initiation of this programme, repeatedly warned Premier Lesufi that the Gauteng provincial government does not have adequate funds to sustain this programme.
"The collapse of Nasi iSpani shows that employment opportunities for the over 2.5 million unemployed Gauteng residents, many of whom are youth, cannot be created through badly planned short-term programmes.
"Political expedient programmes lacking long-term sustainability due to budget constraints will only leave the people, who are breadwinners, solely dependent on these contracts, feeling shortchanged and diminish their trust in government," he said.
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