Staff Reporter
Bloemfontein – Hardly a week after we published a story about 39 of the 650 Pothole Eradication Programme beneficiaries complaining about the Department of Community Safety, Roads and Transport (CSR&T), others are coming out with similar complaints.
The controversial PEP was introduced and launched in partnership with the Central University of Technology (CUT) in November 2023, with an intake of 650 beneficiaries across five districts in the Free State.
In the early days, videos were shared online. In the Springfontein video, beneficiaries were not wearing masks or protective gear despite working with chemicals.
WATCH
The project, on paper, was supposed to create jobs and fill potholes while beneficiaries learned skills.
Since its inception, the project has been halted twice. On both occasions, it was due to money.
On 1 October 2025, the wheels came off and the project was suspended.
According to a letter dated 25 September 2025, in possession of this publication, earlier reports that CSR&T was experiencing financial challenges were corroborated.
With the project suspended, the lives of 650 beneficiaries were put on pause, and the Bethlehem team approached the CCMA. Both parties reached a settlement.
Each of the 13 beneficiaries was to be paid R27,000 as their three-year contracts came to an end.
If all 650 beneficiaries are owed R27 000 that would mean department had to pay R17 million.
According to the settlement, the Department was supposed to pay them on 30 June 2026, but they are still waiting.
What is of great interest is how a company registered in January 2024, within months of its existence, was subcontracted by CUT?
These are questions we will send to the incoming head of the DPCI, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, as soon as he sets foot in his new office.
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