Premier Alan Winde personally welcomed Mireille Wenger to the provincial cabinet when she was sworn in as the new Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities in the province on Monday.
The former DA Chief Whip said that her top priority is job creation in the Western Cape.
Wenger said her mission was to “claw back” the jobs lost as a result of the two-year long Covid-19 pandemic, which had affected the livelihoods of thousands in the province.
“I take this responsibility seriously and, in all that I do, I will consider myself ‘on the job, to create jobs’ in the Western Cape,” she said.
“There can be no greater priority for our province right now, especially given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our economy and on the livelihoods of many of our residents.”
But Wenger said more than just creating jobs, she had higher ambitions to roll back poverty in the Western Cape.
“It is not enough to have the lowest unemployment rate in South Africa, as important as that is. We need to be a shining example of rapid economic growth that creates the jobs that we need to roll back poverty. This is our unwavering objective.”
She said to accomplish her objectives, she would “proudly embrace the principle that it is the private sector that creates jobs”.
“I also look forward to working with the new departments of Infrastructure and Mobility, which will be key to attracting investment and job creation going forward.”
Another new kid on the job is David Maynier, who officially took over as Education MEC.
In April, Winde announced changes to the provincial executive council, renaming some departments, appointing two new MECs and reshuffling another after the resignations of Education MEC Debbie Schafter and former Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz.
Formerly Human Settlements MEC Tertuis Simmers is now to be known as Infrastructure MEC, while Transport and Public Works under Daylin Mitchell is now the Department of Mobility.