Local economic assessment of community work programmes as a job creation mechanism

Abstract: South Africa’s unemployment rate is among the highest in the world and is ever increasing. It is consistently measured above 20 percent. This is a national crisis, along with two of the country’s other big socioeconomic challenges, namely poverty and inequality. To address poverty and unemployment, various programmes were implemented at the local government sphere, such as the Community Work Programme (CWP), aimed at empowering the community through the provision of employment and skills to provide a safety net to the poor by allowing them to earn a monthly wage. The aim of this study was to investigate the CWP’s contribution towards employment or job creation within Region 1 of the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality community, specifically in Erasmus and Soshanguve. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire and 219 respondents were interviewed face-to-face. An OLS model was employed and the dependant variable was respondents’ level of satisfaction with the programme, and the independent variables were skills transfer, age, level of education, and the length of employment/participation rate within the programme. The results of this study revealed that the CWP is contributing positively to the community of Erasmus and Soshanguve as most respondents were of the opinion that the CWP would be their safety net until they acquire another job. It was also revealed that respondents were not only satisfied with the skills they gained in the programme but also with the overall programme. Nevertheless, it is recommended that participants in these programmes should be provided with advanced and adequate skills to assist them in securing a long-term job, such as technical and administrative labour-absorption skills.M.Com. (Local Economic Development