ANC source claims jobs created bolster mayor support ahead Dr WB Rubusana regional conference now terminated, support no longer needed.
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Hundreds – possibly thousands – of temporary employees hired under the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) by Buffalo City metro municipality face dismissal after the metro moved to terminate their contracts at the end of August.
Workers were instructed to stop duties by 31 August, but confusion remains over whether they will be paid for work already completed, or receive their August salaries.
EPWP instructed to stop duties by 31 August
The decision, contained in a letter dated 13 August from general manager Qaphela Mpotulo ordered the cessation of all EPWP activities for the 2026-27 financial year.
Mpotulo directed that “all EPWP contracts, activities and the deployment of EPWP participants cease by 31 August pending the completion of the requisite approval processes.”
From 1 September, no EPWP workers are to report for duty unless attached to authorised and approved projects.
Mpotulo stressed that the programme must comply with legislation, ministerial determinations and municipal policies, warning that unauthorised commitments posed risks of non-compliance and potential financial exposure.
Mpotulo’s directive proposes a comprehensive review of the EPWP programme, including current projects, deployment of participants and their contractual arrangements.
Comprehensive review of programme
The review must also look at the approvals sought, deliverables and expenditure on the programme.
“This will ensure that we identify and address any deficiencies and strengthen governance, oversight and implementation arrangements,” he said.
The process is also expected ensure that future EPWP interventions are properly aligned with operational requirements and strategic priorities.
While the exact number of affected workers is unclear, insiders estimate the figure runs into the hundreds, if not thousands.
The directive also ordered a review of the programme, including current projects, participant deployments, contractual arrangements, approvals, deliverables and expenditure.
ANC source claims dismissals about internal party dynamics
Although the metro framed the move as a compliance measure, ANC insiders suggest deeper political currents. A regional source, speaking anonymously, claimed the dismissals were less about budget constraints and more about internal party dynamics.
According to the source, the EPWP jobs were created to bolster support for mayor Princess Faku ahead of the ANC’s Dr WB Rubusana regional conference.
“Now that the workers or their support is no longer needed, their contracts are being terminated,” the source said.
Faku has faced accusations from ANC branches of manipulating nomination processes for the November local elections to favour her faction.
Opponents, including deputy chair Malibongwe Mfazwe, were allegedly sidelined. Mfazwe was put at the bottom of the party’s PR list despite being nominated by 13 branches.
DA’s Bentley says youth hired as vote-buying strategy
DA caucus leader Sue Bentley said feedback from ward councillors indicated that in wards 1 and 10, about 500 coloured youths in each were hired under the EPWP as part of an ANC vote-buying strategy.
Bentley argued that allegations linking Faku to support buying within the ANC “made sense” and cited delays in convening the regional conference due to factional battles.
The municipality’s official line is that the EPWP programme was not properly approved, rendering it irregular and wasteful expenditure. The termination, officials insist, is a corrective measure.
The timing of these dismissals, just months before local elections, raised suspicions that they are more about shifting allegiances within the ANC than about compliance.
