On the back of the success of South Africa's Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), which created 1,3-million jobs over a five-year period, newly-appointed Minister Geoff Doidge said on Tuesday that the Department of Public Works would soon launch the second phase of the EPWP.

The EPWP, a government initiative introduced in 2003, aims to bridge the gap between the growing economy and the large numbers of unskilled and unemployed people through the creation of temporary work opportunities.

At a media briefing on Tuesday in Cape Town, Doidge said that phase two of the EPWP would aim to create 4,5-million jobs across various sectors of the economy, including the agriculture, arts and culture, and tourism industries.

Doidge elaborated phase two of the EPWP had prioritised the provision of employment opportunities for women, youth and the disabled.

A tax incentive scheme for local government for the introduction of labour intensive programmes would be one of the main mechanisms used to drive phase two of the EPWP, said Doidge.