Today, Members of the Executive Council of the 6th Gauteng provincial administration are being sworn-in by Judge President Dunstan Mlambo of the Gauteng Division of the South African High Court.
 
Thank you Judge President Mlambo for the outstanding work you and members of the Judiciary are doing for our country and our province.
 
I would like to congratulate all the new MECs who have just taken an Oath of Office to serve the people of Gauteng with unwavering loyalty and integrity.
 
I would like to remind you that public office is about working hard and smart to meet the needs, expectations and realising aspirations of the citizens and residents of our province.
 
Let us remember that we are servants of the people, not the celebrities. We must carry ourselves with utmost humility and impeccable integrity at all times.
 
Everything we do must always be for the benefit of humanity in general, the people of Africa, the citizens of South Africa and residents of Gauteng in particular. We are not in office for our families and friends.
 
As we begin the 6th Administration, this ANC-led provincial government has an unwavering and uncompromising commitment to clean governance.
 
We want to get rid of corruption in every aspect public administration in Gauteng province. This is our dream – to have a province free from corruption.
 
This 6th Administration is also absolutely committed to improve service delivery across all departments of the provincial government.
 
Having been Premier in the past five years, I am absolutely committed to build a team that delivers great results and outcomes for citizens.
 
You are the new Team Gauteng which represents change and continuity. The team combines governance experience with youthful energy, activism, better education and fresh ideas to make Gauteng a much better province for all its residents.
 
This is a Team with diverse skills, talents and capabilities that go beyond the confines of specific government portfolios. I am very confident that we can use several of the team members in more than one portfolio and they will deliver great results.
 
However, we have very clear priorities that we must deliver on.
 
The people of Gauteng want a growing an inclusive economy that creates more decent jobs.
 
We want to fix the Gauteng Healthcare system. The people of our province want us to deliver quality healthcare for all.
 
We want to sustain improvements in the transformation of Basic Education and ensure that our children get better education and skills that prepare them for the future. Even our political opponents admit that we have done very well in this area.
 
The demand for housing and land continues to grow despite the huge success we have in the delivery of housing and basic services.  We need a fresh approach to housing delivery and release of land to people build houses for themselves.
 
Crime is totally out of control. The people of our province want a fearless fight against crime. Criminals must have nowhere to hide.
 
Our public transport system remains fragmented and inefficient. Urgent action is required to build an efficient, reliable, safe and affordable modern and integrated public system for the entire province.
 
The people of our province want a smart, ethical and efficient public administration that uses technology and modern management practices to ensure that citizens access government services with ease.
 
Our Plan – Growing Gauteng Together – will set specific targets to achieve specific goals in all areas of priority over the next five years.
 
During the election campaign, we had intensive interactions with various sectors and many put forward what the views on what kind of Gauteng they want.
 
Youth, women, people with disabilities, military veterans and members of the LGBTI communities, artists, faith-based communities and traditional leaders all want to be included in Gauteng's growth trajectory.
 
Small businesses, especially those in the townships, want decisive government support. They want to be paid on time.
 
The people in informal settlements and old townships want improvement in service delivery. They too want a better life.
 
The people want us to work together with municipalities to address backlogs in housing and basic services. They want us to respond to the challenges urbanization and immigration as they impact on the delivery of services to our people.
 
The people of Gauteng want us to fully position our province as the centre of excellence for the sporting and artistic talent and the heartbeat of the Creative and Cultural Industries of our continent.
 
Our Plan, “Growing Gauteng Together”, will address details of how we build the Gauteng of our dreams.
 
We shall not fail the people of Gauteng!
 
I have appointed a team of women and men who have diverse skills, enormous talent and vast experience as public representatives and activists in the civic, women, trade union, student and youth movements.
 
The newly-appointed team of MECs will put the interest of the people first and meet the highest ethical and service delivery standards in the conduct of their work.   
 
On 6 June, the new Executive Council will undergo Induction on their role. Professor Thuli Madonsela will conduct training on Ethics, Administrative Law and Constitutionalism, while former President Kgalema Motlanthe will speak on Leadership and Conduct of public office bearers.
 
Over the next four weeks, Team Gauteng will develop detailed plans for the 6th Administration based on the electoral mandate and the broad priorities the people of Gauteng expect us to address.
 
These will be unveiled in the State of the Province Address which is planned to take place on 26th June, the youth month and a month when we celebrate the adoption that seminal document that guides our work, The Freedom Charter.
 
I will also be visiting every department and entity of the provincial government to engage with senior public servants on the road ahead. I would like to see dramatic changes in the ethical culture and work ethic of our public servants.  There is too much complacency and deadwood in some of our departments that are central to our delivery mandate and transformation agenda.  Things must change.
 
Lastly, I have also decided to strengthen the Office of the Premier by re-constituting the Policy, Research, and Advisory Services Unit and institutionalising the Service Delivery Intervention Unit.