Premier Alan Winde announces the Western Cape Cabinet

Statement by Premier Winde
I am pleased today to announce my Cabinet team who will be working with me during this term of office to execute on the vision we have put forward to the residents of the Western Cape.

The new Cabinet was sworn in this morning by Judge President John Hlophe and are ready to begin serving the citizens of the province.

These ministers have all agreed and support my decision to undergo a lifestyle audit as part of my pledge to build on our good governance track record by setting a new standard for anti-corruption. We have done this because we believe that as public representatives, we must uphold the highest standards of integrity in the execution of our offices. These audits will be performed now, and again at the end of the term.

I have also taken the decision to work toward the reduction of departments in the Western Cape. These changes will be effected in the months to come, following a process of review which will include ministers and officials, to ensure that we are able to do more for our residents with the public funds entrusted to us. South Africa is in a precarious financial position, where government has come to spend more on staff than on service delivery. This situation is untenable. We can and we must be more efficient, putting more of your money back into your communities. This reduced government will be revealed in the coming months.

In putting this Cabinet together, I have sought to achieve stability through experience, and new capability. These new members join our Cabinet with vast experience due to their prior roles.

Minister of Transport and Public Works: Bonginkosi Madikizela
Minister of Community Safety: Albert Fritz
Minister of Health: Nomafrench Mbombo
Minister of Education: Debbie Schäfer
Minister of Agriculture: Ivan Meyer
Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning: Anton Bredell
Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport: Anroux Marais
Minister of Social Development: Sharna Fernandez
Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities: David Maynier
Minister of Humans Settlements: Tertuis Simmers

I wish these Ministers well in their new roles and look forward to working with them as a team.

There are also a few matters about which I feel very strongly. I have therefore made a personal commitment to ensuring we meet our jobs, safety and public transport pledges by agreeing with the Ministers attached to these portfolios that I receive regular detailed reports on our progress in achieving these goals. Mr Donald Grant will serve as an advisor in my office with the mandate to execute our public transport pledge.

The Premier’s Office will also house an economic war room to deal with the challenges faced in growing business, investment and jobs across our province, including in our less established areas. Their first order of business will be to proactively look into the severe red tape challenges facing the private sector which are stymying our ability to provide opportunities for new jobs.

A further programme that will be run from the Premier’s Office includes a direct and concerted effort to drive innovation and culture change within our organisation. My goal is to ensure that the Western Cape Government becomes known and sought after as a great place to work so that we can attract the right skills to deliver better services for our people. It is my belief that if we treat our staff right, they will treat our citizens right. To ensure that we are an open and accessible administration, we will launch First Thursdays across government, providing an opportunity for the public to engage with our Ministers and departmental teams directly.

We will also be working hard to achieve better coordination between the National, Provincial and Local spheres of government. In my time as a minister, it became clear to me that a key focus in improving efficiency is to maximise our ability to work together. In this respect, I hope to drive better and more practical implementation of programmes across the three spheres through improved intergovernmental relations.

Present today are equally important members of our team: our Heads of Departments.  These professionals have worked to ensure that the Western Cape Government has come out tops in every service delivery metric, and I applaud them for running excellent administrations to date. I am pleased today to announce a new acting-Director General, Mr Harry Malila, who has come out of our own Provincial Treasury, and who brings with him vast experience in the budget and policy environment. I am confident that Mr Malila will take our province to new service delivery levels.

Now the hard work begins. Together, we are committed to delivering better services, better opportunities and zero tolerance for corruption to all the residents of our province, and I wish this broader team, and all Western Cape Government employees, well in the execution of their duties in the term ahead.