Replacing ‘delivery state, passive citizenry’ with active citizens

Abstract

The new orthodoxy in economics decries a role for the state in creating jobs but their ideologues might want to reconsider this position when they look at the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). This is by no means a solution to South Africa’s stubbornly high unemployment rate but, as Jeremy Cronin demonstrates in this article, this government-run employment programme has made a difference on a number of levels.