PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMMES IN SOUTH AFRICA: EXPERIENCE AND THE PROBLEM OF THEIR LIMITED USE

Download This Article

Abstract

South Africa is experiencing high (and possibly rising) levels of unemployment and poverty despite government efforts to reduce them. Public works programme (PWPs) is one of the strategies used by the government to tackle unemployment and poverty. The aim of this paper is to provide a survey of alternative specifications, or design options, which may be adopted —with some illustrations from cross country experience and some evidence about the comparative desirability of some of the options. And to shed some light on the South African experience in recent years with PWPs. The interesting question here will be what prospects there are for a successful expansion of the scale on which they are run and why these prospects are not better than they appear to be.

Key Words: Public Works, Unemployment Rates, Government Policy

How to cite this paper: Biyase, M., & Bromberger, N. (2015). Public works programmes in South Africa: Experience and the problem of their limited use. Journal of Governance and Regulation, 4(4-1), 249-259. https://doi.org/10.22495/jgr_v4_i4_c1_p9