The ANC said the funds will only benefit the council after the 4 November polls
A special council meeting at the beleaguered Lephalale Local Municipality in the Waterberg region of Limpopo became heated when the ANC and DA disagreed over a proposal to commit a R2 million grant for the 2027-28 financial year to bankroll the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
The DA told The Citizen it opposed the item because it believed the ANC wanted to use the funds for aggressive campaigning ahead of the local government elections (LGE) on 4 November. The ANC-led council, however, brushed the allegations aside, saying it urgently needed a financial injection to increase EPWP working days from three to five, create a cleaner municipal environment and improve maintenance of parks and open spaces.
The DA said adopting the item would be tantamount to handing the ANC a win at the polls on a silver platter.
“Reasons to back our argument is that the ANC-led council has dismally failed to meet EPWP opportunity targets for the last five years. We harbour a belief that the municipality should instead investigate financially sustainable options to increase EPWP opportunities during the current 2026-27 financial year instead of the next,” said DA caucus leader Johannes Diederik Nel.
He said the ANC-led council wanted to fund the EPWP with R2 million from the municipality’s budget for the 2027-28 financial year. He said his party viewed this as a desperate attempt to win votes, while also exposing a double standard in how the ANC treats decisions that will affect the incoming council.
“The DA supports EPWP and the expansion of legitimate working opportunities for unemployed residents. But with the local government elections around the corner, that can only wait,” said Nel.
He said for five consecutive financial years, Lephalale had fallen short of its annual EPWP target of 118 work opportunities.
He said instead the council only created 23 opportunities in 2021-22, 30 opportunities in 2022-23, 51 opportunities in 2023-24, 60 opportunities in 2024-25 and 67 opportunities in 2025-26.
“Despite this persistent underperformance, the ANC-led municipality did not make the additional financial contributions necessary to reach the target. The sudden urgency after years of underperformance, combined with the proximity of the local government elections, creates a legitimate concern that EPWP is being treated as election-season currency rather than a sustainable employment programme,” said Nel.
He also accused the ANC of having double standards.
“When it suited them, they argued that major decisions should be left to the incoming council. Yet they now want to bind that same future council to spending commitments.”
Nel said the municipality should instead investigate lawful and financially sustainable options to increase EPWP opportunities during the current financial year.
“Residents need opportunities now, not promises against a budget that has not yet been adopted.”
An ANC councillor, however, accused the DA of jumping the gun.
“We are still going to ask for the grant. If we succeed, these funds would assist the forthcoming council beginning after 4 November. Moreover, it is not yet known which party will win the elections. That means whoever wins will chart the way forward because EPWP workers are not workers for the ANC but for all political organisations represented in council, including non-card-carrying members of the public,” said the councillor.
Lephalale municipal manager Feziwe Nogilana-Raphela said the EPWP allocations, known as incentive grants, given to it by the Department of Public Works are not enough for it reach its targets.
“Municipalities are allocated work opportunity targets and full time equivalents [FTE], which is described as the number of participants multiplied by the number of days worked. The work opportunity target for Lephalale for 2026-27 is 118, while FTE is 51 with an incentive grant allocation of R1 461 000. The allocation is not enough for the municipality to reach work opportunity targets and FTEs,” she said.
“It can only create around 62 work opportunities and 38 FTEs. Municipalities are always encouraged to put a baseline budget to supplement the incentive grant. Lephalale proposed a baseline budget of R2 million for 2027-28 to supplement the grant. The recommendation is not for the current financial year but a recommendation for consideration in the next financial year.”
Nogilana-Raphela also said the extra grant will allow EPWP participants to work more days.
“This proposal has always been put forward in all EPWP items to council over the years, although the amount was not stipulated. The baseline budget will allow the municipality to create more work opportunities and reach the target and FTEs.
“In addition, the current allocation only allows EPWP participants to work three days per week. If the municipality can put a baseline budget, EPWP participants can work five days per week, which will make an impact on the ground in terms of street cleaning, litter picking and maintenance of parks and open spaces,” she said.
