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Phillips/McCord on expanded public works programme

October 2004

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Public works and overcoming under-development in South Africa
Anna McCord

This paper gives a critical review of the potential contribution of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) to overcoming under-development and linking the second and first economies. The paper addresses the considerable disjunction between the presentation and aspirations related to the EPWP in the popular discourse, and the realities of the programme, in terms of scale and impact, which risks distorting the social protection debate in South Africa. It also highlights the sometimes contradictory labour market assumptions underlying the EPWP and concludes that the limited scale of employment offered under the EPWP, and the short duration of the employment period for each worker make it unlikely that the programme will have a significant impact on unemployment or poverty, at either household or national levels.
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The Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)
Sean Phillips

This paper provides an overview of the whole EPWP, with a focus on the infrastructure sector (which is coordinated by the Department of Public Works). The paper begins by briefly sketching the rationale for an EPWP, in the context of high unemployment, low skills, and large backlogs of public services. The evolution of public works programmes (PWPs) in South Africa since 1994 is then outlined, and two provincially-initiated PWPs are introduced in order to provide an indication of the rich diversity of existing local PWP initiatives. A short summary of some of the lessons from the international experience of PWPs is provided to complete the background to the EPWP.
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