Tabling his 2019/20 budget vote for the Office of the Premier on Thursday, Saul highlighted that his province will in the next five years be characterised by nothing but "prudent financial management and "service delivery". He told members of the Provincial Legislature and the public that dealing with corruption and addressing questions over maladministration will not only help with the governance of the province and ensure transparency but will help the province redirect the much-needed funds to projects aimed at job creation. Presenting his office's R273,4 million budget for the current fiscal year, Saul further vowed to pay more attention to the challenges faced by local municipalities.

The Northern Cape is among one of the provinces with a number of defaulting municipalities owing Eskom more than half-a-billion rand.

A number of municipalities in this province are also amongst those that, according to Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu, failed to obtain clean audit opinions.

"This administration is committed to building a capable and developmental state. It must be non-hierarchical, with the capacity to eliminate wastage and corruption in the system. The developmental state must focus on integrated cooperative governance, with a specialised skill set that is at the cutting edge of the Fourth Industrial Revolution with the capacity of long-term planning," said Saul.

He further highlighted that plans to revitalise the health and education system in the province are amongst his top priorities. This includes paying more attention to how the bursaries centralised in the premier's office are optimised for prospective students and not looted.

He confirms the R273,4 million budget is an increase of R25.1 million if compared to the previous year. Saul said this amount encompasses a once-off R20 million for the centralisation of provincial ICT services.

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