Judge President Jappie,
The Premier T.W Mchunu
The Provincial Chairperson of the House of Traditional Leaders
Our former Deputy Speaker, Honourable Meshack Hadebe
Leaders of the ANC Led by Prov. Secretary, Cde Mdu Ntuli
Leaders of the Opposition - IFP, DA, EFF, MF, NFP, ACP and the ATM
Members of the House
 
It is befitting to start by extending my sincere appreciation and thank the Judge President of the High Court in KwaZulu-Natal - Judge A.N Jappie  - for taking time from your court schedule to preside over the first sitting of this House to elect the Premier, Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
 
I further extend congratulate all the members of this House for their election as members.
 
At this point, I wish thank all the voters – young and old – for voting on the 8th May. South Africa is respected throughout the world for its stable democracy that is an inspiration to many within and outside our African continent.
 
I wish to thank voters for voting overwhelming for the party of African National Congress.
 
As leaders of all parties and the Government of KwaZulu-Natal in this Legislature, we thank all the voters who voted for our different parties in expressing their democratic right and freedom of choice.
 
While coming from different political parties we must accept each other as the credible and collective voice of people in the Province. We must conduct ourselves in a manner give respect to the people who have voted for us to represent them.
 
We are acutely aware that the people of this province expect nothing from us than accelerating the provision of service delivery. In this regards, we pledge not to disappoint them. We commit to remain transparent, respectful and accountable at all time. We commit to expedite service delivery and perverse state resources.
 
At this stage, I wish to express my appreciation to the African National Congress for the nomination to be the Premier of this great province. I’m conscious that this not as the position but rather a responsibility to serve our people.
 
Equally, I wish to thank all members of the House, including the opposition, for having confidence and supporting my nominating.
 
The fact that the ANC has appointed the fifth Premier in the Province of KZN is a reflection of the growing level of confidence that people of KZN have for our party.
 
Since its ascendance to power, the ANC has always used the state as an instrument to transform people’s lives and to protect vulnerable members of society.
 
The ANC has always place the interests of the downtrodden at the summit of its agenda. As asserted in the ANC strategy and Tactics:
 
“If there were to be any single measure of the civilizing mission of the NDR, it would be how it treats the most vulnerable in our society”.
 
We undertake to use the responsibility bestowed by our people solely for the upliftment and realization of a better life for all our people.
 
At this juncture, I wish pay tribute to the former ANC-elected Premiers – Sbu Ndebele, Dr Zweli Mkhize, Senzo Mchunu and Willies Mchunu.
 
I must hasten to point out that former premiers and members of this house, across all political lines, laid a solid foundation for service delivery. Therefore, we commit to achieve higher levels of development for all the people of this province by building on the solid foundation laid by our predecessors.
 
Before concluding, I wish to pay tribute to ANC volunteers and the alliance partners – who have helped us to achieve the electoral victory we scored.
 
We salute the SACP, COSATU and SANCO. Ours is a strategic Alliance. It is not about social convenience but it was based on the strategic objective of achieving fundamental transformation of our society for the attainment of a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South African society.
 
Ours is a principled alliance that has withstood the stresses and strains of apartheid oppression as it was tested in the trenches of our struggle for liberation. It has been sealed with the blood and lives of our heroes that was sacrificed to see our revolution triumph over all other backward forces of oppression.
 
I am confident that with the support of the alliance we will usher in a new era of socio-economic growth.
 
I also count on the support of religious leaders, traditional leaders, NGOs, captains of industry, academics, professionals and all our public servants in all spheres of government. In the coming five years, we shall continue to work together to improve service delivery, fighting poverty, unemployment, crime and corruption, promoting rural development, fast-tracking radical economic transformation, and revamping our health and education systems.
 
We look forward to a period of robust but healthy debate, engaging on issues on governance and creating a better life for all in our Province.
 

I thank you all.