Public Works Outlines EPWP Grant Oversight

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure describes how it verifies municipal spending on Expanded Public Works Programme projects funded through the EPWP Integrated Grant.

Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Employment

Public Works Outlines EPWP Grant Oversight

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The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure described the verification mechanisms the department uses to track municipal expenditure under the EPWP Integrated Grant. Municipalities reported an 88% expenditure rate on EPWP projects as of 31 March 2025.

Why it matters

The Division of Revenue Act requires municipalities to implement projects on the approved project list, and the Accounting Officer of each receiving municipality is responsible for ensuring transferred funds are used on approved projects. Monitoring through monthly reports and site visits is intended to confirm that grant money reaches its intended employment programmes.

Municipalities reported an 88% expenditure rate on EPWP projects as of 31 March 2025, with 12% of the grant balance still unspent ahead of the 30 June year-end. The breakdown by municipality and the outcome of sampled site visits have not been published in the source material.

The players

Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI)

The national South African government department responsible for administering the Expanded Public Works Programme and monitoring the EPWP Integrated Grant transferred to municipalities.

The details

DPWI monitors EPWP Integrated Grant expenditure across the full municipal financial year, receiving monthly In-Year Monitoring reports signed by municipal Accounting Officers or their delegated officials. The department also conducts site visits on a sample of funded projects to verify the progress that municipalities report.

31 March 2025: Municipalities reported an 88% EPWP expenditure rate.
30 June: The municipal financial year ends.

Big Picture

The oversight regime described operates within the framework set by the Division of Revenue Act, which ties municipal grant spending to the approved project list. Reporting on EPWP spending therefore tests whether those statutory project-list obligations are being met in practice.

Households relying on EPWP work opportunities depend on municipalities spending their allocations as planned before the financial year closes. Any unspent balance at 30 June may affect the number of short-term jobs available in local communities.

The takeaway

Grant oversight depends on timely municipal reporting, so the monthly In-Year Monitoring reports are the main early signal of whether EPWP spending will be fully used by year-end.