Informed by the recent ward walkabouts- Bitou Municipality has taken the bold step of hiring 240 expanded public works programme workers.

The 240 workers will be spread across service delivery departments for the next two months in order to boost productivity and the service delivery offering by the municipality. 

This is as the incumbent council leadership zoomed into the EPWP program as part of their first 100 days in office to identify needs of departments. 

The workers, which comprise of youth and those that are older than 18- 35 years were extracted from the Municipal Unemployed People Database. 

They will work hand in hand with the current intake as a means to support the municipality, and get skills and work experience needed for formal employment. 

At the induction today Bitou Executive Mayor councillor Claude Terblanche gave words of wisdom to the group.

He was flanked by his council leadership: Council Speaker Sandiso Gcabayi, Councillor Heinright Mitchell, Councillor Nokuthula Seti and Councillor Mangxaba. 

Councillor Terblanche implored the group to draw inspiration from his story where he worked at various retail jobs earning less than R100 per week. 

“If I look along my journey- I worked for 15 years and my salary was only R5200.

“Looking at my life I can say that along the line things can change for you, for the better” he said. 

Further Councillor Terblanche spoke directly to the managers and administrators saying that this new EPWP intake is to boost working capacity and not replace permanent staff. 

Meanwhile, councillor Mitchell said he had also formed part of the EPWP previously. 

“Go out there, give it your best as you never know what can come from the two months. 

“ I gave it my all  in that two months and I grabbed the opportunity with both hands,” he said. 

Councillor Seti and Councillor Mangxaba both implored that they respect their supervisors and Bitou Residents.