EWN reports that the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) has terminated the contracts of Community Work Programme (CWP) workers 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. About 250,000 people benefit from the prograsmme. The department said it was as yet 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 the terminated beneficiaries would receive their final salaries on 25 January.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thabiso Goba at EWN
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