Permanent public sector jobs and services must not be sacrificed for short-term popular programmes because this can undermine state capacity, writes Mpumelelo Mkahabela.
Next month marks 20 years since the Thabo Mbeki administration launched the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). It was designed as a short- to medium-term intervention to create job opportunities for unskilled young people who would otherwise remain jobless without work experience.