Expanded Public Works Programme as a poverty alleviation strategy in Nyandeni local municipality in South Africa : an experiential study

South Africa is faced by huge societal problem of poverty and unemployment, twenty one years after the dawn of democracy. These societal problems have been addressed by policy interventions such as Expanded Public Works Programme. The programme targets Youth, women and people with disabilities. However it appears that the mainstream of the programme the employment creation through infrastructure does not accommodate all the targets especially the disabled. The study sought to investigate the role played by EPWP in alleviating poverty in Nyandeni Municipality and to find out to what extent it really alleviate poverty. The study took a triangulated research paradigm which used both qualitative and quantitative research approaches to collect data from forty eight respondents, by way of in-depth interviews, focus group discussion and questionnaire survey. The study found out that, inter alia, poverty remains high in Nyandeni Local Municipality, there is rampant empowerment exclusion in the area, the wage rate paid to beneficiaries is too little to pull them out of poverty and the effects of poor exiting strategy are unbearable to beneficiaries as they find it hard to find other means of employment once they exit the programme. Some of the recommendations which the study made in line with improved mainstream empowerment security in relation to EPWP are that ,the government needs to improve the information dissemination about proposed interventions to alleviate poverty and that communities should partner with them to alert them about their needs and what best interventions could impact real change. The government should be mobile and take services to people and there should be consideration to review wage rate. The researcher is quite optimistic that the study will play a part in improving policy implementation