Mr. Tshangana is an accomplished executive manager who started his career as a Deputy Director: Municipal Finance Policy at the erstwhile Department of Provincial and Local Government in 1999. It was not long before his expertise was recognised by the Development Bank of Southern Africa where he joined them as a Local Government Specialist, Project Manager: Work Out Unit in the Group Risk Division, and ultimately as Regional Manager for the Development Fund between 2003 to 2007.
From DBSA he joined the Department of Local Government and Housing in the Western Cape as Deputy Director-General: Operations, responsible for managing performance. It was not long before he was appointed as the Head of the Department in 2010 responsible for managing and driving the implementation of the provincial human settlements strategy and departmental five-year plan, facilitation of the development of economically viable, socially and environmentally sustainable, and integrated human settlements, amongst others.
Mr. Mashwahle Diphofa is the Director-General of the Department of Traditional Affairs. Before that, he was the Director General of the Office of the Public Service Commission (OPSC) between 2010 and 2011, and the Director General of the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) from November 2011 to January 2018.
He previously also held various positions within the Joint Education Trust, an agency established as a partnership between business, labour, community, and political organisations to provide support to development initiatives in the field of Education and Training. Mr Diphofa has also worked as a teacher educator at Colleges of Education and as a Researcher for the Community Agency for Social Enquiry (CASE).
During his tenure at the Public Service Commission, he also served as the Secretary of the African Association of Public Service Commissions, a professional body for Public and Civil Service Commissions in the African Continent.
He has also served on the boards of the Gauteng Youth College, the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), and the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS). He also served two terms as the Vice President (Southern Africa) of the African Association of Public Administration and Management (AAPAM).
He holds BAPaed, and BEd degrees from the University of the North and Master of Education and Master of Management (Public and Development Management) degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Ms. Mapatane ‘Pati’ Kgomo is a Deputy Director General in the Municipal Support Agent responsible for a branch called Infrastructure Delivery Management Support since January 2020. She is currently also the Acting CEO of MISA since April of this year. She has fifteen years’ experience in the local government sector and worked as a senior and executive manager in the North West Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs as a Chief Director responsible for municipal governance and administration support.
She has also served in the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) for almost 5 years and was exposed to infrastructure planning, financing, and implementation in various sectors. She is a seasoned administrator with vast experience in good governance, strategic planning and implementation, and project and programme management. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the North West University, and a Masters in Commerce (Development Finance from the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business).
Ms. Bongiwe Nomusa Sithole-Moloi is first and foremost a dedicated wife, mother, and daughter to the Moloi family. She is passionate about religion, and humanity and instilling basic family and cultural values in those she meets.
Inspired by the activities of 1976, she became politically conscious at a tender age, joining the Congress of South African Students, of which she became part of the leadership at the school and cluster level. In the year 2000, she was elected the first female Mayor of UMgungundlovu District, where she pioneered groundbreaking achievements that today still remain a legacy of her leadership.
In 2014 Mrs Bongiwe Nomusa Sithole-Moloi was elected to serve as a member of the Provincial Legislature, representing the ANC, where amongst other committees, she served on the committee for SCOPA, and was also Chairperson of the Premier’s Office and the Royal Household Department.
In 2015, Sithole-Moloi was elected as a PEC member and became Chairperson of the sub-committee on Social Transformation. In June 2016 she was appointed as a Member of the Executive Council and entrusted as the MEC for the Departments of Arts Culture Sport and Recreation.
Again, in June 2019 Sithole-Moloi was appointed as a Member of the Executive Council and entrusted with the role of being a MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development. Furthermore, in February 2023 she was assigned a role for being a MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, a position she currently holds.
Barbara Mgutshini serves as a Deputy Director General in the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) in KwaZulu Natal Province. She has an impressive academic background, holding a BSc Honours Degree in Rural and Urban Planning, as well as a master’s in business administration. Currently, as DDG, her diverse portfolio includes responsibilities for LED, Disaster Management, Municipal Infrastructure, and Municipal Planning.
Barbara’s profound dedication lies in addressing climate change issues, utilising her position to respond to the urgent call for climate action. Through Land Use Management, disaster adaptation, and mitigation, she is committed to constructing climate-resilient infrastructure.
Kgosi Thabo Milton Seatlholo is the current Chairperson of the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders elected on 31 October 2022 for a period of five years. Prior to being elected as the Chairperson Kgosi Seatlholo served as the Deputy Chairperson of the NHTKL from January 2022 until 30 October 2022. In addition, Kgosi Seatlholo is a member of the North West Provincial House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders.
Kgosi Seatlholo is also the Senior Traditional Leader of Barolong Boo Rapulana Traditional Community in the North West Province. In his capacity as a traditional leader and the Chairperson of the National House of Traditional Leaders, Kgosi is passionate about community development, specifically focusing on rural traditional communities. He has participated in different Committees of Houses of traditional and Khoi-San Leaders such as the Land and Agricultural Development Committee, Planning Committee, and Justice and Crime Prevention with a focus on addressing challenges and creating self-sustenance in traditional communities.
Sello Enoch Dada Morero, a Member of the Mayoral Committee for Finance in the City of Johannesburg. Top on the list of his priorities as MMC for Finance is Morero’s desire to build a financially resilient City, which includes achieving a 90% revenue collection threshold for rates and services.
Cllr Bheke Stofile has over 26 years of work experience in the private and public sectors occupying various positions of leadership. During his work experience he has been nurtured, skilled, and capacitated to face numerous areas of responsibility. During his career, he has served in numerous political roles and boards. Cllr. Stofile joined Local Government in 2011, served as Speaker of the Matjhabeng Local Municipality, and subsequently as Mayor for recurring periods of office. Cllr Stofile is in possession of numerous diplomas and certificates with Institutions such as GIBS.
He is involved in various roles in all 3 spheres of Government Local, Provincial, and National. Because of the depth grasped, Government Associations asked and tasked him to lead on matters of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. He was responsible for leading Input and Debate on laws affecting Local Government such as Municipal Structures and Municipal Systems Amendments, including matters of Audit and Municipal Performance.
Shri Kuldip Narayan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India is looking after its flagship programme of the ‘Housing for All’ Mission for the last 2 years. He is also serving as CMD of the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) and the Government’s Director in the National Housing Bank (NHB).
Shri Narayan graduated in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur and joined Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 2005.
Earlier, he served as the District Magistrate in various districts in Bihar. Shri Narayan has also worked as Chairman of Bihar State Bridge Corporation, Managing Director of Bihar State Water Board, Patna Municipal Commissioner, etc. in Bihar.
Dr Meggan Spires is ICLEI Africa’s Director of Climate Change, Energy and Resilience. The unit she manages serves ICLEI Africa’s 300+ network cities in over 26 African countries, in terms of supporting their journeys towards climate resilience. Meggan and team manage a suite of multi-year, multicountry programmes and projects in fields such as energy access, climate change adaptation and climate change mitigation.
The work involves capacity building, policy development, on-the-ground implementation, and unlocking climate finance at the city scale. Meggan is currently the Principle Investigator for a number of cutting-edge research into development programmes on the continent and sits on a number of international policy advisory boards. She holds a PhD in Environmental Science from Rhodes University, and prior to joining ICLEI Africa worked as a Climate Protection Scientist at eThekwini Municipality (Durban), where she was involved in the development of Durban’s climate change programme.
Aklilu Fikresilassie (PhD) is the Director of Thriving Resilient Cities at WRI Africa and Representative of WRI in Ethiopia.
Dr. Aklilu has over 19 years of professional leadership and technical experience in the field of Urban Development and Management, Environmental policies as well as managing governmental and nongovernmental programmes. Prior to joining WRI, Aklilu spent 7 years as programme manager at UN-Habitat and representing the agency in Ethiopia.
He worked as Planning Specialist and team coordinator for UNDP in South Sudan. Aklilu served as bureau head for finance and economic cooperation with a responsibility to manage, monitor and evaluate government and NGOs programmes. Further, he was a successful city manager.
Dhesigen is currently Head of the African Climate Risk and Human Security Programme at the Institute for Security Studies, Africa. He is also World Bank Senior Advisor and Climate Adaptation Lead to the South African Presidential Climate Commission.
He is a leader, a scientist and activist for positive social change. He is also President of the global NGO, Human Right 2 Water, and a Founding Member of the Water Policy Group.
He was previously the CEO of the Water Research Commission (WRC), South Africa’s dedicated national Water and Sanitation Innovation, Research and Development Agency for 10 years. He has previously served in senior positions in the South African national government and South African universities having begun his career as a medical scientist in a specialist children’s hospital. He was a Councillor of the South African National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI). He counts his lovely wife and beautiful children as both his primary source of inspiration and vanguard of his humility.
Oumar has more than 20 years of academic and practical experience in land, natural resources, conflict resolution, urban development, regional cooperation, and partnership. Prior to being appointed as Director of the Regional Office for Africa, Oumar was the coordinator of the Urban Legislation, Land, and Governance Branch within UN-Habitat.
As the Leader of the Land and GLTN Unit, Oumar has led the efforts toward improving tenure security for the vulnerable through the expansion of GLTN’s work at the country level; advocating for wider incorporation of land governance in the overall SDGs agenda towards bridging the gap between rural and urban land nexus, and to build strong partnership on land governance. The Land and GLTN Unit is also supporting tools implementation at country levels to support land administration and policy development. Previously as a Senior Human Settlement Advisor in UN-Habitat’s Regional Office for Africa, Oumar oversaw the cooperation with francophone countries within UNHabitat and was the focal point for the African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development (AMCHUD).
Clinton Heimann serves as the Deputy Director General of Spatial Planning and Land Use Management, playing a crucial role in advancing Land Administration in South Africa for the National Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development. His credentials include registration as a Town and Regional Planner and a Master’s degree in Town and Regional Planning from the University of Pretoria.
Over a span of 24 years, Clinton has accumulated extensive professional experience, with a focus on strategic planning, programme development, and managing infrastructure construction projects and agricultural projects in both rural and urban environments in South Africa.
His contributions to numerous national departments, including the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Department of Cooperation Governance and Traditional Affairs, are noteworthy.
Lindile L. Ndabeni, Ph.D. is a policy analyst. He is trained in applied linguistics, history, development planning, and economic geography. His policy research focuses on the following areas of praxis and policy analysis; local economic development, local and regional systems of innovation, rural-urban interdependencies, innovation geography, technology transfer and technology uptake, gender mainstreaming, employment creation, and employability. He is a thought leader in innovation-driven local economic development.
He has been a member of the panel of experts that produced the Integrated Urban Development Framework- Republic of South Africa. He is the chairperson of the board- Ntinga Development Agency of the O. R. Tambo District Municipality. He is fluent in isiXhosa, isiZulu, and English.
The BRICS Urbanisation Forum is working towards building productive and sustainable urban economies and livelihood survival strategies in urban environments as well as creating inclusive urban spaces.
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