With only ten days in office, Brown said cutting costs and ensuring the improvement of services during her tenure tops her list of priorities. This in addition to ensuring economic growth, youth empowerment, and job creation. 

Addressing members of the media, Brown has vowed to ensure that turnaround strategies at municipal level and in the different departments are implemented to keep costs low and to make room for the youth. Speaking ahead of the tabling of the provincial budget, Brown said every provincial department will be required to ensure that they have a budget to accommodate the youth and the disabled.

She says all department will have to settle their bills timeously, comply with the 30-day payment obligation, and implement consequence management measures where required. Brown has highlighted that there will be no space for wasteful expenditure whilst the province sits with a high unemployment rate and other socio-economic challenges. 

Brown has added that issues relating to high unemployment in the province call for the collaboration of all spheres of government, as well as the private sector. 

She also alludes that more needs to be done to revive the Special Economic Zone in the province to create employment opportunities.

“There is some work that needs to be done at the special economic zone. There is going to be a full strategy around that and a development plan to create an environment conducive for the industry that is about to happen there, and that not only requires city planning, but it requires a budget, resources, and skills. Those are examples of where there are opportunities within the government to assist unemployment,” added Brown. 

She has highlighted that in efforts to achieve some of these goals, the province has to put in efforts to curb wasteful expenditure and ensure that it obtains more clean audits. 

In 2017/18, Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu singled out the Free State and the North West as being in a "very bad state".

"Delays in the completion of projects, poor quality work, and payments without evidence of delivery resulted in poor service delivery and allegations of fraud," he said.

The report further indicates that irregular expenditure increased to nearly R4 billion in 2017/18, while unauthorised expenditure was over R500 million.

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