YWP

The newly elected YWP National Committee members (2022-2024) will aim to empower young water professionals through a range of networking, training, thought leadership and empowerment opportunities.

By Jessica Fell, national marketing lead, YWP

The new committee members will meet in person at the WISA 2022 Biennial Conference in Sandton, after which an annual strategic session will be held.

Here are the committee members (2022-2024)

Anya Eilers (national lead)

A water resource scientist from Zutari, Anya has worked on a range of integrated water resources management and climate change projects across sub-Saharan Africa. She spent two years with the Global Green Growth Institute in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, working in the water sector under the Investment and Policy Solutions Division. She has an MSc in Geology from Stellenbosch University and has been part of YWP since 2017.

Meet the new YWP National Committee members

Ashton Mpofu (outgoing national lead)

Holding a masters’ degree in chemical engineering (cum laude), Ashton is currently completing his PhD. He is passionate about water in the green economy for inclusive and sustainable socioeconomic development. Ashton works as a senior analyst at Green Cape and has 10 years of combined experience spanning teaching and training, mineral processing, research and development, consultancy, intellectual property and commercialisation, market intelligence, and business development.

Nsuku Nxumalo (national vice lead)

Nsuku is a consultant in the water practice Pegasys. With an MSc in Water Science, Policy and Management from the University of Oxford, Nsuku has experience in water and environmental management from her role as environmental officer at Anglo American (Thungela Mining). Nsuku is also a candidate natural scientist who is passionate about all things water.

Magray Owaes Hassan (national vice lead)

Magray is a highly reliable, dedicated and results-driven PhD candidate in environmental engineering specialising in nitrogen removal in wastewater via Anammox technology. He has over five years of experience conducting basic and applied research in the water and wastewater treatment sector.

Eugene Fotso Simo (national coordination lead)

Born in Cameroon, Eugene works as a water engineer at Zutari and holds an MSc in Water Quality Engineering from the University of Cape Town. He aims to leave a positive mark on the African continent by improving service delivery in the water sector.

Jessica Fell (national marketing lead)

A PhD candidate at the University of Cape Town with research focusing on evaluating blue-green infrastructure for sustainable cities, Jessica has four years of experience in the water sector in academia and the private sector, and her research interests include water-sensitive city transitions, planning, policy, and data and information visualisation.

Craig Tinashe Tanyanyiwa (national finance lead)

Craig is an earlycareer hydraulic engineer and a PhD candidate at the University of Cape Town. Growing up in a water-scarce city made him cognisant of the fragility of the water system and cultivated an interest in water resource management. As a result, he has dabbled in groundwater management, low-cost sanitation, water demand and pressure management, and stormwater management.

Mmakgomo Malatji (Limpopo lead)

Mmakgomo works for Lepelle Northern Water Board, has a postgraduate degree in public development and management from the University of the Witwatersrand, and is currently pursuing her LLB studies with the University of South Africa. She aims to transform and work on gender equality for female water and sanitation professionals, connect people, support their professional aspirations, and build up a support group of female water and sanitation professionals. Lindiwe Nkabane (KwaZulu-Natal lead)

A graduate trainee at Umgeni Water under the Catchment Management Department, Lindiwe holds holds an MSc in Hydrology. Her work is highly driven by her rural upbringing, which was characterised by a lack of fresh water for drinking and domestic purposes, and poor sanitation services. She strives to improve life and bring about dignity through her work to impoverished communities with poor/no water and sanitation services in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 6.

Thapelo Mongala (North West lead)

Thapelo is a junior lecturer at the Centre for Water Science and Management at North-West University. His previous experience was at the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment where he coordinated environmental management functions including capacity building, advocacy and facilitating schools, youth and community-based projects and programmes.

Penester Tjale (Gauteng lead)

Penester holds a BTech in Geology from Tshwane University of Technology and is currently an MSc Environmental Science student with the University of South Africa. She is passionate about young people and their role in the water sector. Aluvuyo Bixa (Eastern Cape lead)

Currently enrolled for a BSc (Hons) in Geography, Aluvuyo has recent work experience as a candidate scientist at the Department of Water and Sanitation in Gqeberha. She is passionate about water and sanitation preservation, and aims to find solutions as to how she can help with mitigation measures to preserve our water resources.

Mohamed Gulamhussein (Western Cape lead)

As a water and wastewater treatment engineer at Zutari, Mohamed has been involved in the process design and conditional assessments of multiple water treatment works. He is passionate about process design, treatment technology and project coordination.

The new committee is inspired by the passion, talent and potential of our young water professionals and looks forward to serving, learning and growing with them. Connect with us on Twitter @YWPZA.