Picture: EPWP employees participate in the programme/Generic
By OBAKENG MAJE
15 October 2026 – The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the Greater Taung said it condemns the alleged politicisation of public employment opportunities. This comes after the the Department of Public Works allegedly approached the Greater Taung Local Municipality (GTLM) and requested the municipality to inform unemployed individuals about its job opportunity drive called Taung Participant Recruitment Plan, which will last for six months.
The purported recruitment programme seeks to appoint 800 unemployed individuals to participate in categories such as Itirele, NYS Building, General Workers, Call Centre and Building Maintenance.
However, EFF Member of Parliament (MP) and mayoral candidate for the Greater Taung Local Municipality (GTLM), Mothusi Montwedi raised serious concerns regarding the distribution of the 800 participant opportunities. Montwedi said following an engagement with the Department of Employment and Labour, the EFF understands that a meeting was held with the Speaker of Greater Taung Local Municipality (GTLM), Grace Moipolai and the mayor’s office to communicate the available opportunities and facilitate their broad distribution.
“The intention was to ensure that information reached communities across the Greater Taung so that deserving and eligible residents could apply. However, the EFF is concerned that this intended broad distribution did not take place as expected.
“Instead, the Moipolai allegedly shared information about the opportunity within her ANC political network, creating the impression that a government employment opportunity intended for the public, was being treated as an opportunity for ANC comrades,” he said.
Montwedi further said they reject any practice that makes access to public employment dependent on political affiliation, personal connections or membership of a particular political network. He added that, these allegations require a transparent response from the relevant municipal leadership to establish how the opportunities were communicated and whether all eligible residents had a fair chance to apply.
“EFF calls for a transparent and non-partisan recruitment process. During our engagement with the Department of Employment and Labour, we called for a transparent and inclusive recruitment process.
“We proposed that application forms and information about the opportunities be distributed through the offices of traditional leadership, as well as through public platforms accessible to communities throughout Greater Taung,” said Montwedi.
A ward councillor candidate of Alliance For Social Equity in Taung, Bakang Mankuroane said: Typical of the ANC and everything is about themselves and themselves alone. This is a living proof that poverty is systematic and deliberate under the ANC-led government.
“They deliberately deprive our people of opportunities that could have improved their lives, so that they can control them. I was asking myself that, why would CVs for EPWP Programme be collected by Crespo, fearing lack of integrity and fairness being compromised.”
Mankuroane said they are also aware that they go around threatening older persons. He said that they threatened older persons and alleged that, if they do not vote for ANC, government will stop social grants.
“Mandela once said, if the ANC does to you what the apartheid regime did to you, then do to the ANC what you did to the apartheid regime. Now, the time has come for our people to liberate themselves from all the disrespect and disregard they receive from the ANC.
“Poverty and unemployment affect us all, not only ANC supporters. I want to conclude by reminding our people that, they can continue to subject themselves to such injustices or they can change the status quo by voting for someone who is both capable and willing. The ball is in their court, I urge them to vote wisely,” said Mankuroane.
However, the Greater Taung Local Municipality (GTLM) mayor, Itumeleng Maribe refuted these allegations and described them as absurd. Maribe said indeed they are quite aware of the recruitment process for EPWP programme.
“However, the issue of recruitment is the competence and directive of the Department of Labour and Employment. The Department of Labour and Employment, has established a database of unemployed youths within the community of Taung in general.
“In previous years, the Department of Labour and Employment, visited various areas to establish and register unemployed young persons. Now, they already have that database. They have communicated and informed us about this recruitment,” he said.
Maribe said they can attest that the recruitment process is open to the public and transparent. He said it is not ANC programme, but government process.
“I can assure you that, we have been interacting and indicated that recruitment process is in the public for any unemployed young person interested in applying. So, we encourage unemployed persons to submit their Curriculum Vitae (CVs) to the Department of Labour and Employment to be captured.
“Now, we are calling on various political parties to order because what is happening is interference. They must allow the Department of Labour and Employment as a relevant authority through Department of Public Works to implement this process without interference,” said Maribe.
He said he is chairing inter-governmental relations committee and they meet often as government to ensure that all processes that are beneficial to the public are fair and transparent.
“So, it will be reckless and irresponsible for political parties to alleged that there are some individuals who are being recruited in the darkness without following due diligence procedures or being recruited by a certain political party.
“I condemn that kind of statements and as a leader of government at the Greater Taung Local Municipality, the recruitment process is going to be fair and transparent,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Staff at the Office of the Mayor, Lekgotlha Crespo Menyatso refuted allegations that, he had collected CVs of any job seekers. Menyatso, who threatened to take legal action against Mankuroane said, they have been directing job seekers who wanted to submit their CVs to the Department of Labour and Employment.
