Gauteng EFF accuses Lesufi of using ‘green army’ to counter their ‘Andries Tatane’ clean-up campaign

The EFF in Gauteng has condemned the use of the expanded public works programme (EPWP), which it says has been used to empower ANC volunteers ahead of the 2024 general elections.

This weekend Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi launched a “Bontle ke botho” campaign which saw the recruitment of 6,000 workers, dubbed the “green army”, throughout the province to embark on a clean-up and waste collection campaign.

The red berets, however, said the programme is a bogus, haphazard and unplanned scheme where scarce government resources are used to counter the Andries Tatane Clean-up Campaign of the EFF.

“This is a 12-months clean-up and waste collection programme for the Gauteng department of agriculture, rural development and environment. The process is irregular and illegal in that there was no proper recruitment processes,” said the party.

The EFF accused Lesufi of mobilising and empowering ANC volunteers for electioneering and claiming non-existent victories using state resources.

Gauteng provincial party chairperson and Ekurhuleni finance MMC Nkululeko Dunga said Lesufi, after launching the programme, ordered municipalities to absorb these ANC volunteers into their workforce.

“The Ekurhuleni municipality is expected to absorb 1,600 of these recruits in complete disregard of the human resources process and procedures of the municipality. This is an attempt to use the corrupt syndicate of processing employment at a provincial level using political patronage and imposing it on municipalities, which already has waste department employees and operators within set budget parameters,” said the party.

The red berets called this process illegal and rejected it.

“This electioneering project was never part of any government plans and does not fall within the provincial government budget priorities, it is just a publicity stunt hoping to rescue the ANC from the inevitable, come the 2024 general elections,” said Dunga.

The use of state resources for electioneering is symptomatic of a liberation movement which has reached its expiry date, he said.

“This creation of unsustainable jobs that last for six to 12 months only serves to expose a government that thrives on preying on the deplorable conditions of the people by entrenching state dependency where people are expected to be thankful for crumbs that fall from the table.”

This “green army” programme was no different to the recently launched crime prevention wardens, where people who are trained for two months are expected to combat crime in the province, said Dunga.

“The creation of these minuscule jobs to clean townships shows how little the ANC thinks of black people. Communities do understand the importance of keeping their environment clean.

“Instead, we need the capacitation of municipal waste management departments to provide effective and sustainable refuse collection services, and the people will have no challenge keeping their surroundings hygienic.”

Young people are desperate for skills development and sustainable jobs, not aimless waste collection programmes, he said.

“The ANC has no ideological conception of the need to build state capacity and a state-led massive industrial development programme to create sustainable jobs and skilled professionals.”

The party said the state should invest in small businesses and industries that already exist instead of the ANC’s obsession with bloating the public servant sector at the expense of true industrial development.

“The EFF vehemently rejects this illegal, irregular and desperate attempt by Lesufi and ANC government to mitigate the inevitable loss of elections. There is no amount of manipulation of the systems that will help them return to govern the people they have abused for many years,” it said.

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