The impact of a labour-intensive road construction programme in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province

This study investigates the distributional impacts of labour-intensive projects under the Gundo Lashu programme in the Limpopo province. The aim was to evaluate infrastructure effectiveness of the Extended Public Works Programme, focusing on the interface between road investment and economic development as the central premise. The objective was to evaluate the impact of the programme on the participants and their communities. Specific areas of impacts investigated are mobility, income, work opportunities, poverty reduction, sustainable livelihoods and opening of access to market opportunities. A matched case–control study design was adopted. The study found that the programme had achieved its objectives related to the total number of jobs created and the total road length constructed. However, the programme showed mixed results on communities' socio-economic outcomes and the impacts of the programme on poverty and sustainable livelihoods.