Gauteng Economic Development MEC Qedani Mahlangu has launched the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. The event took place at Maropeng Visitor Centre on Tuesday.
The trust will ensure that the benefits of the World Heritage Site extend to communities as well educational and scientific development within the area. "I am confident that this trust comprises of individuals who are highly intelligent and motivated," said the MEC. "I believe they will be highly effective in achieving their aims."
The trust is made up of an impressive assembly of influential achievers within diverse fields and disciplines who represent vast experience, wisdom, diligence and dignity. It is believed that this group will be able to leverage significant funds directed to social benefit and development as well as the advancement of science and education, particularly but not limited to, in paleontology.
The trustees are Vusithemba Ndima, Dr Molapo Qhobela, Dirk van Schalkwyk, Professor Belinda Bozzoli, Dr Bob Brain, Joe Mohlokoana, Justice Edwin Cameron, Fana Jiyane and Kuseni Dlamini.
The trustees will be accountable for the operational effectiveness and project priorities of the trust.
Deputy Vice Chancellor for Advancement and Partnerships at the University of the Witwatersrand Professor Rob Moore commented, "The establishment of the trust represents an important new step in advancing the existing success of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site Project and we are expecting that the resources generated through the trust will support further research and community development. The trust will serve as an important instrument for channeling both earnings and donor funds into these critical objectives."
CEO of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site Management Authority Fana Jiyane, added, "We are delighted to have recruited the support of this preeminent group of individuals and believe this bodes well for the future of education, research and community development in this globally significant location. We look forward to supporting a dynamic variety of effective interventions in both science and society."
Detailed biographies of the trustees:
Dr Bob Brain is an eminent South African paleontologist who has studied and taught African cave formation for more than fifty years. He is an Honorary Professor of Zoology at the University of the Witwatersrand. He has directed comprehensive archaeological studies of Swartkrans caves in the Cradle of Humankind, with more than 200 hominid specimens found, mostly Paranthropus robustus, plus animal fossils, stone and bone tools, remains of Homo ergaster, thought to be predecessor of Homo sapiens. He held directorship at Transvaal Museum. He previously worked at the Transvaal Museum and the then National Museum of Rhodesia as a Curator and Research Fellow. He holds Doctor of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Wits University.
Justice Edwin Cameron, nominated by the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site Management Authority, is currently Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Before that, he served for a year as an Acting Justice at the Constitutional Court, a judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal for eight years and High Court judge for six. Justice Cameron held several prominent chairmanships and was the Chairman of Wits University from 1998 to 2008. In 2009, he was installed as an honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple. He holds honorary doctorates from King's College in London and the University of the Witwatersrand. He holds Bachelor of Law, Bachelor of Civil Law and Master of Arts that he obtained from the University of Oxford.
Vusithemba Ndima, Chief Director: Heritage, (National Minister of Arts and Culture) is Acting Deputy Director-General (DDG) for Cultural Heritage in the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC). He joined DAC as Deputy Director: Cultural Tourism Development in 1997. In his present portfolio, he manages three Directorates with vast responsibilities and functions including, but not limited to: the management of cultural institutions (museums) which also include the building of new museums and monuments, living heritage and he is also responsible for policy and legislation. Ndima has acted on the following positions: Chief Operations Officer and DDG (Heritage, Archives, Libraries and Heraldy). He also served as a member of the Department's Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC). He obtained his Master of Arts degree at Wits University.
Dr Molapo Qhobela, the Deputy Director-General, (National Minister of Science and Technology) is currently Deputy Director-General (DDG) for Human Capital and knowledge systems with the Department of Science and Technology. Formerly a DDG in the Higher Education Department, Dr Qhobela also holds several prominent Chairmanships and Directorships in a number of top institutions. He holds a PhD from the University of Kansas in the USA.
Dirk van Schalkwyk, Director-General (National Minister of Tourism) has served also as a Chief Operations Officer. He brings a wealth of experience from a tourism viewpoint having been involved in policy formulation in South Africa and internationally.
Professor Belinda Bozzoli was the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research): Wits University from 2003-2010. She previously held positions of Head: School of Social Sciences, Professor and Head: Sociology at the University of Witwatersrand and Associate Fellow: Yale University. She is the author of three single-authored, internationally published books and editor or co-editor of a further four; and the author of 26 articles. She was awarded an A-rating from the National Research Foundation, making her the first sociologist to be honoured in this way. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Master of Arts that she both obtained from the University of Sussex.
Joe Mohlokoana, nominated by the West Rand District Municipality, is currently the Director of Cradle Coop, a business that is operating in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site area. He is also an ex Municipal Manager for West Rand District Municipality and served as the CEO for Golden West Social Housing Institute. He obtained his Masters in Local Government Management from the University of Witwatersrand.
Kuseni Dlamini, nominated by the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site Management Authority, is currently the CEO of Old Mutual (Emerging Markets). He is the former Head of Anglo American South Africa and a member of the Executive Committee of Anglo America plc, former Executive of Richards Bay Coal Terminal. Kuseni was once named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He is the Independent Non-Executive Director of Mvelaphanda Group Limited and the Executive Chairman of Richards Bay Coal Terminal Company. He obtained his Master of Arts degree from the University of Oxford.
Fana Jiyane is currently the CEO of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and Dinokeng projects. Before that he served as the Chief Operations Officer (COO) for the two projects.
For more information contact:
Mandla Sidu
Cell: 082 773 9013
Source: SAPA
