"So we have done the so-called 'finder finder' recruitment process, and we have met the target of the contractor."
He said construction would take five months. The contract workers would earn R1,300 a month.
Siphesihle Simelane, 25, was one of those who got a contract. He comes from a family of 15 who all rely on social grants and since matriculating in 2012 has not had a regular job.
However, with help from his church, Simelane managed to register for a law degree at the University of SA (Unisa) last year and has secured a grant from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.
He said the road contract money would allow him to buy textbooks and "help at home where I can in these few months".
This article was first published by GroundUp.
Names drawn from bucket to decide on jobs for R2.3bn road project
Image: GroundUp/Sibusiso Mdlalose
Ward councillors in Osizweni in Newcastle resorted to pulling names out of a bucket on Monday to allocate jobs on a R2.3bn road contract in the area.
About 150 residents gathered in a local school yard in Osizweni with their IDs for the so-called "finder finder" recruitment process for temporary road contract workers.
Ward councillor Vukile Kubheka watched over the process where residents' IDs were put into two buckets. Twenty-two IDs were pulled out – 11 male and 11 female – for work on the tar road managed by Umpisi Group, a Durban contractor.
This followed an outcry by residents at a recent meeting, accusing ward committee members of favouritism in allocating jobs. Forty-three of 65 workers had already been recruited.
"There is a high rate of unemployment in this township, so one has to understand the people's concerns," said Kubheka.
Job-seeker told 'employment conditions' include sex
"So we have done the so-called 'finder finder' recruitment process, and we have met the target of the contractor."
He said construction would take five months. The contract workers would earn R1,300 a month.
Siphesihle Simelane, 25, was one of those who got a contract. He comes from a family of 15 who all rely on social grants and since matriculating in 2012 has not had a regular job.
However, with help from his church, Simelane managed to register for a law degree at the University of SA (Unisa) last year and has secured a grant from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.
He said the road contract money would allow him to buy textbooks and "help at home where I can in these few months".
This article was first published by GroundUp.
MORE
Construction to start soon on SA's first plastic road
Three Mpumalanga women fall for alleged hospital jobs scam
These SA government jobs will get you away from it all for a whole year
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most read
Latest Videos