Western Cape premier Lynne Brown has been described as someone who gets the job done. In an interview a few years ago, she reportedly said: "I can't bear working in an environment where things don't get done. I am a flamboyant type, I get things done."

Lynne Brown was appointed premier of the Western Cape in June this year, taking over from Ebrahim Rasool, who was premier some five years.

The move propelled Brown into the headlines, though she is no stranger to the nature of politics or the media, given her rise through the ranks over the years.

Early years

Brown was born in Cape Town in 1961, and grew up in Mithell's Plain on the Cape Flats. She is a qualified teacher and also holds a certificate in Gender Planning Methodology from University College in London.

Brown has always been politically active. She was the chairperson of the Mitchell's Plain Youth Forum and she was the member of the Women's United Organisation from 1979 to 1989.

Brown was involved with the United Democratic Front (UDF) and after its disbandment, she joined the ANC in 1987. She was elected into the working committee and she was also the secretary of the Western Cape's Woman's League in 1990.

In 1994 Brown was elected into Parliament. She served in different departments including health and welfare, education and culture, and held the post of ANC chief whip and Speaker of the Western Cape provincial parliament.

In 2000 Brown was an ANC metro mayor candidate for the City of Cape Town in which she was defeated, but this did not deter her. She stayed in the legislature and was later appointed as the Western Cape's MEC for Finance and Economic Affairs in 2004. The portfolio has been since renamed as finance and tourism.

Uniting a divided party

In her new capacity as premier Brown has been tasked with uniting a divided ANC in the province and to speed up service delivery. With the 2009 elections looming the party has its eye on regaining lost voter confidence, and ultimately, to win the province.

In her acceptance speech as premier, Brown ruled out that she would make drastic decisions within the province saying "do not fix that which is not broken". She acknowledged Ebrahim Rasool for his outstanding performance, and indicicated that she was well aware of what was expected of her. She urged all political parties to unite to improve the lives of the poor.

Brown has had her share of detractors. The Citizen reported that she was only elected to win back the province. The article went on to say her appointment was part of window dressing by the ANC, and that the "real premier" of the Western Cape should be Mcebisi Skwatsha.

Skwatsha is the ANC's Western Province secretary, a post he held for two terms. Earlier this year he was stabbed in an ANC meeting in Boland. Skwatsha was stabbed in the neck and the perpetrator has since been arrested. This was viewed as evidence of the deep divisions that run through the party in the province.

In her acceptance speech, Brown admitted that the province was divided. "If we really want to honour Madiba in the Western Cape we must unite around his values and his principles," she said.

We asked the premier the following questions:

iafrica.com:You are the first female premier of the province what are you going to do differently from your predecessors
LB:: I have committed myself to working with the city [who is DA-controlled] and intend to keep to this commitment.

iafrica.com: In your opinion what are the problem areas in the province?
LB: Housing, crime, non-racialism and inequality.

iafrica.com:Where is your focus on at the moment?
LB:: I am trying to understand what each department will be reasonably able to do in the next seven or eight months and carving out the areas we will be able to deliver on in the period.

iafrica.com: The ANC has to win the elections in the next elections. What has the party done in the past five years to prove to voters that it is the party to vote for?
LB:: This is the first time the ANC has been in power for a whole five-year term and we have a stable economy in the province, reasonable political stability. More people have grants, we have increased the education budget and increased foreign direct investment and I must mention that 45 114 houses were delivered between 2004 and 2007, and that that number has already grown. We have also built 42 new schools.

iafrica.com: What is the ANC's objectives for the next term for the province?
LB:: Heightened service delivery, more jobs and taking more learners to a successful completion of Grade 12.