Mashatile, who previously held the position of MEC for Finance and Economic Affairs, stated during his acceptance address that, as part of building Gauteng as a globally competitive city region, the priority over the next six months was to ensure a stable and growing economy.

"The economy should create work and other economic opportunities for the growing number of our people."

He asserted that the region remained on course to achieve its target of 8% growth by 2014, and was growing at 5,1% above the national average.

But he also indicated that the province was not immune to developments in global economy, and acknowledged that its growth aspirations could be affected by the current global financial crisis, which many commentators believed could precipitate recession in a number of developed countries and even in a range of developing ones.

"So we do feel the pressure, but because of prudent micro-economic policies, the South African economy has been resilient, and Gauteng, being the engine of the South African economy, has to be at the forefront of that resilience," the new Premier averred.

He was concerned, however, about imbalances between the province's exports and imports and stressed the need to prioritise value-added manufacturing as a way of countering current-account vulnerabilities.

"One of the things that we encourage in the private sector is to focus a lot on production. We need to produce a lot as a country, and export to other countries. Particularly in this situation."

A key priority, linked to the desire to sustain economic growth, was that of education and skills development. He said that through the Gauteng Global City Region Academy, the provincial administration would seek to ensure that the necessary skills required by the state and the economy was produced.

CRIME IS ENEMY NUMBER ONE
But crime was the province's number one enemy, and Mashatile said he would endeavour to strengthen crime prevention efforts, especially by building a strong movement against crime, in partnership with civil society.

Another key consideration during Mashatile's tenure would be building sustainable communities. He noted that with the launch of the ‘Top 20 Township Programme', the province was on track in revitalising its communities, and changing the settlement patterns of the old townships. He stated that he was confident that by 2009, the townships would be better off than previously.

Also planned were interactive interactive sessions with communities, with the first one being at Orange Farm later in the week.

Meanwhile, Mashatile's vacancy had been filled by African National Congress (ANC) chief whip Mandla Nkomfe, who was named the new MEC for Finance and Economic Affairs.

The remaining members of the executive council were unchanged, and Mashatile said this was done not only to retain a measure of continuity, but because the remaining members of council were performing well in their current portfolio's

Lindiwe Maseko was also appointed as the new chief whip for the ANC, to replace the outgoing Nkomfe.