Martin Meyer, head of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, addresses allegations of sexual exploitation in the EPWP.
Image: KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works and Infrastructure
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works and Infrastructure Martin Meyer revealed that “sex for jobs” is an ongoing scandal within the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
Meyer said that the department recently undertook a province-wide tour to engage with communities directly through its citizens’ engagement roadshow, and EPWP constantly emerged as the number one concern in every community visited.
“Some complaints we experienced included participants being made to prove which party they aligned with before being given EPWP opportunities. Others were asked to pay for those jobs. Jobs were given to people who have a relationship with officials, and most shockingly, there was the ongoing scandal of sex for jobs that we still find,” Meyer said.
“The challenge with this is like with any sexual assault or rape case, people are willing to tell us this confidentially, but getting people to open criminal charges, go to a police station, is very, very difficult. Because let’s be honest, the most desperate and the poor are being exploited. They then got these jobs, and they’re very scared of losing these jobs, losing what income they have or being victimised by the people in their community.”
Meyer said it is unfortunate that while they know for a fact that sex for jobs exists, and people report it, it is difficult for the department to take any action.
“But let me also be very clear. Sex for jobs is a form of sexual abuse, and it’s a form of rape, and it needs the fullest criminal charges to be laid, and people like that should end up in orange uniforms and be a guest of the government in Westville Prison or others,” Meyer said.
Meyer said that the complaints they received led the department, a month ago, to launch its EPWP anti-fraud and whistleblower portal found on their webpage, kznworks.gov.za.
“In the first month, we received 18 credible and actionable complaints on this complaint line. These include a lack of transparency in recruitment processes, alleged political interference in recruitment, and operational challenges with certain municipalities that led to two months’ delays in payments,” Meyer said.
He said EPWP is more than just a quick fix to a long-standing problem of unemployment, upskilling, and empowerment but the programme faces serious ongoing challenges.