Abstract
M.A. (Sociology)
South Africa is facing unprecedented levels of unemployment under the current neo-liberal regime. Due to this, the government of South Africa introduced the Community Work Programme (CWP) and Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) as ‘palliative’ dual keynesian strategies to intervene in the ‘ailing’ labour market. This study explored the perceptions and experiences about the impact of CWP as an employment and poverty alleviation strategy. Particular attention was given to Bramfischerville community in Soweto, City of Johannesburg. Bramfischerville is post 1994-predominatly black and poor residential area. To gain deeper insight into CWP, CWP participants and community key informants were interviewed.
Wide ranging literature on CWP in South Africa was reviewed in addition to the global literature on Employment Guarantee Schemes (EGS). The literature has shown that EGS have workfare and welfare impacts on the communities. EGS have been widely used as interventions to augment the livelihoods of poor households and communities, especially in communities experiencing high levels of unemployment, poverty or in disaster situations. EGS have been implemented with various degrees of labour intensity and success from place to place and time to time ...