COMMISSIONER PROFILES
PROF IVAN TUROK
Commission Chairperson
Professor Turok is Acting Executive Director at the Human Sciences Research Council and Honorary Professor at the Universities of Cape Town and Glasgow. He is a Member of the Academy of Science of SA and has over 30 years’ experience researching cities and regions in different parts of the world. Professor Turok is also Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Regional Studies, and a Board Member of the Regional Studies Association. He has a PhD in Economics, a Masters in Urban Planning and a BSc in Geography. He is a regular advisor to the United Nations, OECD, European Commission, African Development Bank and SA government on various aspects of urban and regional development. He has published over 100 academic papers and was a lead author of the 2011 State of South African Cities Report.
Contact number: 021466 7866/0827354078
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Commissioner
MR PASCAL MOLOI
Commission Deputy Chairperson
Mr Pascal Moloi obtained a BA (Social Sciences) from the University of the Witwatersrand. He is the sole Director and founder of Modiro Pascal Moloi Consulting (Pty) Limited. He has held an extensive number of senior leadership positions in the public sector. His key areas of expertise are in Public Sector Management, Change Management, Public Policy and Strategy Advisory, facilitation and Organisational/Institutional Design.
He was City Manager of the City of Johannesburg where he had the responsibility to implement the transformation and restructuring plan. The key milestones included the establishment of the unicity itself; the establishment of 14 municipal owned entities to deliver basic services to the city; the achievement of an A+ credit rating; the establishment of a performance management system; and hosting of key city events including the Joburg World Summit. He was the Managing Director of the Resolve Group. His recent activities include being a Member and Chair of the National Department of Human Settlement’s Capacity and Compliance Assessment Panel; Leader and researcher for the Conditions of Service and labour relations pillar for the Ministry of Public Services’ public sector repositioning exercise; Member of the National Planning Commission; appointed on the panel of experts to draft the National Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF); and recently appointed as member and Chairperson of the Minister of Human Settlement’s Advisory Council
Contact Number: 012 3081829/082 7825952
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MS VIV MCMENAMIN
Ms McMenamin holds an Honours Degree in Social Science,
majoring in Economics from the University of Cape Town,
and a Masters in Economic Science from the University of London.
She is a well-known figure in Durban, having been involved
in a number of mega projects, including the Point Development,
and she was an Economic Advisor to President Thabo Mbeki . Shehas made a significant contribution towards the objectives
of the KZN Growth Coalition.She is currently the Director of the Land & Forestry Divisionof Mondi, having joined the company in 2003. She becamea Sustainable Development Director and a member of theMondi South Africa Board in 2004. She has held her currentportfolio as Managing Director Forestry for Mondi SouthAfrica Division since the beginning of 2006.
Contact number: 031 4512401/ 082 8886034
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MR AKASH SINGH
Mr Akash Singh is a registered Chartered Accountant and
has completed his MBA degree.
He is the Chief Executive Officer at Sigma International,
which is a global consulting business with offices in South
Africa and the USA. He is a member of the Board of the
Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the last 8
years and a past president of the Chamber. Prior to joining
Sigma International, he was a General Manager: Product at
Nedcor as well as General Manager- Finance at BOE Bank.
Prior to banking, he was a Dispute Analysis and Investigations
Manager at Price Waterhouse Coopers (Durban)
where he had undertaken a series of investigations both in
the private and public sector. He completed his articles at
the Price Waterhouse Coopers.
He has been selected as a representative to PUM, a Netherlands
government programme that provides global mentorship
and he is a member of the Council and Board of the
South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI).
Contact number: 083 638 0339
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THATO TSAUTSE
Ms Tsautse has an impressive background in both the professional legal arena and in the corporate environment within the Shipping Industry.
She completed her articles at Bheka Shezi & Partners, working independently and with Counsel from an early stage. This shaped her legal acumen, professionalism and personal motivation.
When she had completed her articles, she was appointed as a Legal Assistant in the Durban Municipality, where she was responsible for prosecuting contraventions of city by-laws and overseeing insurance litigation. After the 1994 elections, she was tasked with merging numerous municipalities into one.
By 1996, she formed a partnership, Makhanya,Tsautse and Mvambo, where she was the marketing partner. Here she was able to break new ground by making inroads into previously white dominated fields of work.
In 2000, Tsautse was asked to join the Port of Durban as the Acting Port Legal Advisor, where she quickly expanded her expertise to include maritime work. She was promoted to Legal Manager of SA Port Operations, a division of Transnet, in 2001. From 2002, the legal department reported directly to the CEO of SAPO, and Tsautse was tasked with heading the Legal Department nationally.
Contact number: 083 419 1676
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Commissioner
PROFESSOR URMILLA BOB
Prof. Urmilla Bob holds a B.A. Pedagogic degree in Education, English and Geography from the University of Durban-Westville, B.A. Honours in Geography from the University of South Africa and a Masters in Geography (1994) as well as a PhD in Geography (1999) from West Virginia University in the U.S.A. She is currently the University Dean of Research and a Full Professor of Geography in the School of Agriculture, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Prof Bob conducts research on a range of developmental and environmental issues, including socio-economic impact assessments of developmental projects in relation to conservation and ecotourism projects as well as sustainable livelihoods in both rural and urban contexts. She has published in these fields in both nationally and internationally recognized academic books, conference proceedings and journals. She has also contributed to numerous technical reports. She has training expertise in quantitative (questionnaire surveys, SPSS, participatory GIS, etc.) and qualitative (participatory rural appraisal, mental mapping, problem ranking, focus groups, etc.) methodologies and techniques, monitoring and evaluation, development of indicators, environmental impact assessments, and gender analytical methodologies.
Contact number: 031 260 2501/ 073 133 0147
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DR MALCOLM MITCHELL
Dr Malcolm Mitchell is a registered Professional Engineer and a Senior Fellow of SAICE. Since graduating at Natal University in 1956 he has been awarded two Doctorates (in engineering and in transport economics), and a Master’s degree in Administration. He has had 58 years of experience in civil engineering, in both the public and private sectors, mainly in construction, including tunnelling, roads, geotechnical and urban transport design, and transport policy and financing. He has been a member of many professional bodies and represented South Africa in such international bodies. He retired in 1998 after serving 9 years as Deputy Director-General: Transport with the overall responsibility for all land transport in South Africa. Since retirement he has been active in contract dispute mediation, transport research and strategic planning, and the mentoring of many newly qualified civil engineers. He has published 80 papers, including keynote addresses at international conferences and lectured at the World Bank, at its request. He has professional awards for outstanding services to the Transportation profession, outstanding services to the Roads profession and a CSIR award for contributions to transport research. He is currently external examiner in post-graduate studies at two South African universities
Contact number: 031 765 1046/ 083 460 0353
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MS YASMIN RAJAH
Ms Yasmin Rajah is a social worker by profession and the founding Director of Refugee Social Services which is the social implementing partner of the UNHCR (United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) in KZN.
She has worked in the child and family welfare and the refugee and migrant sectors for many years and has developed expertise in working with refugees in an urban setting.
She has served on the Board of Children First, and currently serves on the Board of CoRMSA (Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa), as well as on the Streetnet Financial Review Committee. She has been selected by the UNHRC to participate in NGO consultations, High Commissioners dialogues and other forums at the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.
Her passion lies in working with vulnerable communities and promoting programmes that are holistic and developmental in nature and which serve to empower.
Contact number: 031 310 3578/073 153 0597
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MR RORY EDWARD WILKINSON
Mr Wilkinson holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciencefrom University of Natal Pietermaritzburg (UKZN), and aMaster’s Degree in Town Planning from the University ofNatal Durban (UKZN). He also holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Graduate School of Business.He is a registered professional Town Planner (SACPLAN) and is a member of the South AfricanPlanners Institute (SAPI). Rory is a regional councillor of the South African Property Owners Association. Mr Wilkinson is currently the Planning Director for TongaatHulett Developments (PTY) Ltd and has worked in the land planning and property development arena for the past 19 years. He has been instrumental in the facilitation of a number of TongaatHulett developments including the uMhlanga Ridge Town Centre, Sibaya Casino, Ridgeside, Riverhorse Valley Business Estate, Bridge City, Durban Point Development and the Cornubia Integrated Human Settlement development.
Contact number: 031 560 1926/ 083 278 4299
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MS BEAUTY ZIBULA
Beauty Zibula is a Sample Machinist at Prestige Apparel and
has served the South African Clothing and Textile Workers
Union (SACTWU) for many years during which she took on
numerous leadership roles. She was the chairperson of,
SACTWU, Durban North. She also served as Durban South
Treasurer, Regional Deputy Chairperson, Chairperson in
the National Bargaining Council, 2nd Deputy President, 1st
Deputy President and National Gender Co-ordinator for
the organisation at different times.
She was also the Provincial Chairperson, National Gender
for COSATU.
Her involvement in the Union has ensured that she remains
an activist in the struggle for the rights of the workforce and
the vulnerable. She maintains her position in the ANC women’s
league.
Contact number: 031 304 1690
Email: rb
MR GLEN ROBBINS
Glen Robbins is a part-time Honorary Research Fellow at
the School of Built Environment and Development Studies,
University of KwaZulu-Natal (Durban, South Africa) and a
specialist consultant focusing on regional and local economic
development, infrastructure planning, and financing
and trade and industrial policy. He previously headed the
Economic Development and City Enterprises functions in
the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and served on the
board structures of a number of public and non-profit entities.
He has participated in a range of projects, in South
Africa and internationally, including urban and regional
economic development research as well as research projects
in the fields of employment, trade, labour dynamics,
transport/logistics and industrial development. Glen Robbins
serves as a Commissioner on the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial
Planning Commission and is on the Advisory Board
of the State of the African Cities Report project hosted by
the African Centre for Cities (at UCT). He has a Bachelor of
Social Science (Honours) from the former University of Natal,
an M.Phil. in Development Studies from the Institute of
Development Studies (University of Sussex) and is busy with
a Phd. at the University of Amsterdam’s Institute for Social
Science Research.
Contact number: 082 496 9396
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MR ERIC MTSHALI
Eric Mtshali is a trade unionist, and leader in uMkhontoweSizwe
and Member of Parliament.
He became active in the anti-apartheid and trade union
movement, organising workers in Durban since the 1950s
beginning with the Dock and Harbour Workers Union in
1951. In 1955 he assisted in established Southern African
Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU). In 1964/5
Mtshali became the first editor of Dawn magazine, a position
he held until 1969. In the same year he began serving
as the ANC’s Chief Representative in Tanzania, a position he
retained until 1976. Mtshali then went to work as the South
Africa trade union representative at the World Federation
of Trade Unions in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
Mtshali returned to South Africa in 1991. Between 1995
and 2000 he was the Deputy-Commissioner of Criminal
Intelligence in Kwa-Zulu Natal. In the 2000 elections Mtshali
stood as the ANC councillor of the eThekwini Unicity
Municipality. Mtshali has been a Member of Parliament for
the ANC since 2004. He has sat on the parliamentary committees
on Labour, on Higher Education and Training and
on Human Settlements. He is also currently on the Central
Committee of the SACP.
Contact number: 083 571 8914
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DR SIPHIWE MKHIZE
Dr Siphiwe Mkhize holds a Diploma in Irrigation Sciences
from Bari Institute in Italy and a Bachelor of Science Degree
in Agronomy from Iowa State University, USA. He also holds
a Master of Science degree in Soil Chemistry and Fertility
from University of Reading in England, a Master’s degree
in Philosophy (Applied Ethics) in Environment from the University
of Stellenbosch and a PhD in Sustainable Ecological
Management from the University of Pretoria.
Dr Mkhize is currently the Head of Provincial and State
Owned Entities Performance Monitoring at the Department
of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). He was the Minister Counsellor (Agriculture) at the South African Embassy in the United States of America. He represented the South African
Agricultural interest in Mexico from September 2001 to July
2010. Prior to this he was the Director of International Relations
at the National Department of Agriculture.
He has represented the South African Agricultural sector on
various forums abroad and locally. He has written a number
of papers in the field of Agriculture, Development, Ethics
and Agricultural Biotechnology, and he is the author of a
book titled: Towards Hope and Challenge Agricultural Biotechnology
and the Catholic Social Teachings: A Catholic
Ethic for Agriculture, Environment, Faith and Food (2004).
Contact number: 012 319 8469/ 0723682287
Email:
MS LINDIWE RAKHAREBE
Lindiwe Rakarebe holds a B.A Degree in Management
Leadership (Free State University), a Diploma in management
Development Programme (Executive education),
Work orientation and language Certificate from the
University of Natal (UKZN), a marketing management Certificate from Damelin Management School, and a number of professional development programs including a Financial Services Training programme (International Training solutions)
She has extensive experience in the financial services industry
andestablished relationships in KZN.
She is currently the CEO of the Durban ICC.
Contact number: 031 3601301/0727507523
Email: