COGTA terminates contracts of community workers aged 55 and above
The Community Work Programme is a government initiative that provides temporary employment for people of working age, while they search for permanent jobs.
Cooperative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa briefed the media on 18 December 2024 on developments with regards to spaza shop registrations. Picture: Alpha Ramushwana/EWN
JOHANNESBURG - The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) has terminated the Community Work Programme (CWP) contracts of people aged 55 years and older.
The department said this was due to budget cuts and other related issues.
The CWP is a government initiative that provides temporary employment for people of working age, while they search for permanent jobs.
With high levels of unemployment in the country, the CWP provides relief for thousands of people across the country.
About 250,000 people benefit from it.
ALSO READ:
At this stage, the department said it was unclear how many beneficiaries were aged 55-years and older.
"It is important to note that the decision to end contracts of CWP participants was not taken lightly, but it followed extensive discussions and assessments which entailed a thorough look at any available intervention that could have been adopted to avert this situation. It is within this context that the department regrettably has no other option but to reduce the number of participants in the programme," said COGTA spokesperson, Legadima Leso.
The department said terminated beneficiaries would receive their final salaries on 25 January.