Abstract
The Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is a nationwide programme in which public expenditure is systematically used to generate additional employment through the use of labour-intensive work methods thereby contributing towards national poverty alleviation goals. The programme spans four sectors comprising infrastructure, environment and culture, social and non-state of which environment works is the second largest. The Environment and Culture (E&C) Sector is the second largest component of the EPWP, with a total expenditure of roughly two billion Rand in 2011/12, providing 21 percent of the employment generated in the EPWP. The Sector consists of a large variety of projects including sustainable land and water resource management, waste management, agriculture, natural heritage works, tourism infrastructure and arts and culture. Commissioned by the ILO, this study explores how employment is currently generated in the EPWP and how additional jobs can be created through the works carried out in the Environment and Culture Sector of the programme.