EPWP funding halted in eThekwini as damning audit exposes ghost beneficiaries

A programme designed to put food on the table for South Africa’s most vulnerable has been thrown into crisis in KwaZulu-Natal.

The Expanded Public Works Programme, better known as the EPWP, has had its funding to eThekwini Municipality suspended after serious financial red flags were raised. And this time, it is not just about paperwork. It is about trust, accountability, and money that may never have reached the people who needed it most.

Audit findings raise serious concerns

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson made the call after a troubling report from the Auditor-General of South Africa uncovered major irregularities dating back to the 2021 to 2022 financial year.

According to the findings, payments were made to individuals who should never have been on the system in the first place. Some were flagged as ghost beneficiaries, others were deceased, while some were already employed by government or had invalid identification details.

Even more concerning was the lack of basic proof that any work had actually been done. Key records such as attendance registers were either missing or could not be verified.

For a programme built around temporary job creation, that absence of oversight cuts deep.

Funding freeze puts pressure on municipality

Macpherson has now drawn a line in the sand. Funding transfers to eThekwini for the 2026 to 2027 financial year will not go ahead until the municipality proves it can fix the mess.

The minister has also made it clear that this is not a temporary warning. If corrective action is not taken, the taps will remain closed.

Within 30 days, the municipality is expected to pass a council resolution that tackles the issue head-on. This includes launching a full investigation, rolling out a detailed recovery plan, and taking disciplinary or even criminal action where necessary.

There is also a financial reckoning ahead. The municipality has been instructed to calculate how much money was lost and to begin the process of recovering funds that were improperly paid out.

A programme meant for the poor under strain

The EPWP has long been one of government’s key tools to fight unemployment, especially in cities where economic inequality is visible on every street corner. From road maintenance to community projects, it offers short-term work opportunities to thousands of South Africans.

That is why the latest developments hit differently.

Officials have warned that the programme is not a “piggy bank” but a lifeline for those struggling to make ends meet. When systems fail, it is not just numbers on a report. It is real people who lose out.

Years of warnings ignored

What makes the situation harder to ignore is that it did not happen overnight.

Government officials revealed that concerns around eThekwini’s EPWP performance have been building for years. Meetings, interventions, and attempts to fix reporting systems have been ongoing since at least 2024.

Despite those efforts, performance has steadily declined.

There was a time when eThekwini was seen as a leader in the programme’s early phases. But that reputation has faded, with recent phases showing a sharp drop in efficiency and compliance.

A turning point for accountability

The funding suspension now places the spotlight firmly on local government accountability.

For residents, especially those relying on EPWP opportunities, the hope is that this moment forces meaningful change rather than becoming another unresolved scandal.

For government, it is a test of whether oversight mechanisms can actually protect public funds and restore confidence in programmes meant to serve the country’s most vulnerable.

The next 30 days could decide whether eThekwini rebuilds trust or sinks deeper into one of its most serious governance crises yet.