Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has announced his Executive Council that will lead the seventh administration of the provincial government.
The new provincial Executive Council was announced on Wednesday evening.
“Today, we bring to you the new leadership and Members of the Executive Council (MEC), assigned to steer the ship towards a better Gauteng.
“The team, will from this week, start their work of consolidating the election manifestoes of our different parties so that we can develop a shared vision for Gauteng, a shared vision of prosperity, a shared vision of service delivery, a shared vision to eliminate crime, corruption and lawlessness,” he said.
The new MECs are:
- MEC for e-Government is Bonginkosi Dlamini.
- MEC for Finance and Economic Development is Lebogang Maile.
- MEC for Education and Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation is Matome Chiloane.
- MEC for Health and Wellness is Nomantu Nkomo Ralehoko.
- MEC for Roads and Transport is Kedibone Diale-Tlabela.
- MEC for Human Settlements is Tasneem Motara.
- MEC for Social Development is Faith Mazibuko.
- MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development is Vuyiswa Ramokgopa.
- MEC for Infrastructure Development and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is Jacob Mamabolo.
- MEC for Environment is Sheila Mary Peters.
Lesufi explained that the formerly stand alone Department of Community Safety will now move to the Office of the Premier in a bid to strengthen the fight against crime.
“The fight against crime is going to be the centre of this government. We are migrating this responsibility to the Office of the Premier so that we can lead and champion the fight against crime, corruption and lawlessness.
“We can’t surrender our province to criminals. We can’t be scared of our own shadows and convert our own houses to be prisons because criminals are doing as they wish. We strongly believe the utilisation of creative ways of technology, innovation and the increase of personnel to fight crime in our province must be a priority.
“If there is one priority for the seventh administration and the government of Gauteng in the next five years, it’s our relentless efforts to confront and fight crime head on,” he said.
Government of Provincial Unity
The provincial executive is constituted of members from different political parties – forming a Government of Provincial Unity (GPU).
The political parties represented in the provincial executive council are the African National Congress, the Inkatha Freedom Party, Rise Mzansi and the Patriotic Alliance.
According to Lesufi, other political formations party to the GPU “chose to use the Gauteng Provincial Legislature as their terrain of operation”.
The formation of the GPU was necessitated after no political party received an outright majority following the National and Provincial Elections in May.
The Premier emphasised that although the MECs hail from different parties, they remain committed to serving the people of Gauteng.
“We accept, without any conditions the outcome of our elections and the desires of our electorate that all political parties must work together to run our provincial government. In doing so, we must be matured; we must be sober; we must understand each other at all times. These are uncharted waters; these are opportunities that are presented to us by our voters.
“We’ve been asked to work together - to work together we will do. We’ve been asked to combine our thoughts for a better Gauteng - to combine our thoughts, we will do, together. We’ve been asked to leave no one behind. Today, we all declare that no one, will be left behind unless they choose not to be part of the [GPU].
“I want to emphasise this: there is no door that is closed. This door will be permanently open and those that want to join [the GPU] will be free to join it,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
