The new DG is currently serving her notice at the Metro and is expected to assume her new duties at the office of the Premier at the beginning of September.
"Margaret-Ann Diedricks has proven herself at various high-level positions she has held in various spheres of government, the Legislature and academia. As we already past the half-way mark of our term of office, it was critical that we find someone who would be able to hit the ground running," Mokonyane said.
Diedricks, who holds a Master's degree in Psychology, and an Advanced Executive Programme certificate from Unisa, replaces Nosizwe Nokwe-Macamo, who left the GPG at the end of March 2012.
"We know Margaret-Ann as a hardworking, dedicated technocrat who is committed to whatever project that is thrown her way. She was one of the people instrumental in managing and implementing the GPG reconfiguration process.
"We are of the view that Ms Diedricks is the perfect person to lead the GPG towards the attainment of the promises we made to the electorate in 2009," Mokonyane added.
Diedricks, who is the current Ekurhuleni Metro Chief Operating Officer and former Community Safety Head of Department, has 15 years' experience working in the public service, dating back to her period as Research Manager for the Gauteng Legislature back in 1997.
Prior to that, she was active in the education sector, spending almost a decade in the world of academia. She has also been published in numerous academic journals.
"Her knowledge of the Legislature processes and her experience at local government level will certainly help strengthen inter-governmental relations with these very strategic stakeholders and propel us towards a Globally-Competitive City-Region," Mokonyane said.
Diedricks is confident about her new position and feels she will be able to add value to the GPG. "I believe I have developed a wide array of management, administrative and financial management skills through the different positions that I have held over the years that will help me add tangible value to the work of the Office of the Premier".
