Former EPWP workers due in court after protesting naked
Durban — Former workers of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) who protested naked in a park near the City Hall and got arrested are due in court on Tuesday.
While the demonstration held on Thursday was peaceful, some took off their clothes and protested naked, most of them women, which resulted in the metro police arresting them for public indecency, filling up four police vans.
Led by Slindile Sokhela, a group of about 150 protesters have camped at the park across from City Hall for over two weeks. Sokhela shared with the Daily News that while the group does not have an extensive list of demands, the urgency to reclaim their former positions is paramount.
“It’s simple – we want our jobs back,” she stated.
She said they were not given any notice when they lost their jobs, they were only told that the municipality does not have the funding.
The former workers are faced with a bleak Christmas as they have not been working for many months, she said, adding that the police came to the park and asked them to leave because they were hanging laundry, cooking and sleeping at the park, which is not allowed.
A protester, Thembelihle Sikhakhane, said her family in Jozini will not receive any money from her this year, as her EPWP employment was terminated. She said she is the only breadwinner at home and her father is a pensioner.
Sokhela told the Daily News that the former workers who were arrested by the police were later released and will appear at the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
According to metro police spokesperson Colonel Boysie Zungu, the arrests were made for public indecency.
The municipality has repeatedly said that the termination of the programme was due to the budget cut by the Department of Public Works by R42 million to R18m for the 2024/25 financial year. This dramatic reduction meant the number of participants on the programme had to be cut from 4 000 to just 1 276.
eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba, who had earlier promised to revive the programme and address the city’s unemployment crisis, now faces public scrutiny amid the uncertainty of the future of the EPWP. “After the Department of Public Works reduced the budget to R18m, the City reprioritised funding to top up this amount,” explained Xaba.
City spokesperson Gugu Sisilana reiterated the City’s commitment to align the EPWP with its original objectives. Sisilana expressed the City’s unwavering dedication to creating new opportunities for young people aged 18 to 35, pledging to equip them with the necessary skills to thrive in the job market.
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Daily News