On speaking today at the celebration of 20 years of the EPWP and the launch of Phase 5 of the program in the Buffalo City municipality of the southern Western Cape province, Ramaphosa stressed the initiative remains a key policy instrument for grappling with unemployment and mitigating poverty.

During two decades of existence, the leader added that the EPWP has built a success story that has empowered communities to address local needs and boost resilience.

Ramaphosa detailed the program has created over 14 million job opportunities since 2004, with over 300 public agencies in all areas of government and non-profit organizations (NGOs) as implementing agents.

Beneficiaries, according to the Presidency, include street and beach clleaners, and those involved in early childhood development (ECD), community home-based care, school feeding and community crime prevention.

Some of the beneficiaries have even been trained as emergency responders in the South African Police Service (SAPS) and have even trained as pilots, he stated.

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