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Brief Biographies of Presenters

2012 International Consultative Seminar

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Address by the Deputy President

Mr K Motlanthe (Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa)

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe was born on 19 July 1949 in

Alexandra township, Johannesburg, to a working class family. Most of his childhood was spent in Alexandra and much of his adult life was spent in Meadowlands, Soweto.

In the 1970s, while working for the Johannesburg City Council, he was recruited into Umkhonto we Sizwe where he formed part of a

unit tasked with recruiting comrades for military training. The unit was later instructed to transform its function from recruitment to sabotage. While some members of the unit left the country, he and Stan Nkosi remained in the country to establish such machinery.

Their unit was also involved in smuggling MK cadres in and out of the country via Swaziland. On 14 April 1976 they were arrested for furthering the aims of the

ANC and were kept in detention for 11 months at John Vorster Square, Johannesburg. In 1977 he was found guilty of three charges under Terrorism Act and sentenced to an effective 10 years imprisonment on Robben Island. After his release in 1987, he was tasked with strengthening the union movement. Motlanthe worked for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in charge of education. Among other things, he was involved in training workers to form

shopsteward committees. In 1992 he was elected NUM General Secretary. He was instrumental in negotiating a deal for mineworkers under which their wage increases would be pegged to productivity at a time when the gold price was low, and the industry was closing marginal mines.

This deal helped to avert massive retrenchments in the sector. He

was involved in the establishment of the Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC), which was wholly owned by the Mineworkers Investment Trust, with seed capital of R3 million. This has proven to be one of the best examples of effective economic empowerment in the country. During his tenure, NUM established the JB Marks Education Trust, which provided bursaries to mineworkers and their dependants, and a resident trade union school called the Elijah

Barayi Memorial Training Centre, located in Yeoville, Johannesburg. He was also involved in establishing the Mineworkers Development Agency, which focused on the developmental needs of ex-mineworkers, their dependants and communities. While in NUM he served on the Miners' International Federation, and was involved in exchange programmes with the United Mineworkers of Australia.

When the ANC was unbanned in 1990, he was put in charge of re-

establishing the legal structures of the organisation in the PWV region and was elected its first chairperson. He often travelled around the country with Walter Sisulu visiting violence flashpoints. He was elected unopposed as the Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1997 and was re-elected in 2002. His responsibilities included the development of party-to-party relations

in the region, across the countries of the South, and around the world. In December 2007 he was elected ANC Deputy President at its 52nd National Conference in Polokwane. In July 2008 he was appointed Minister in The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa, and on 25 September 2008 was sworn in as South Africa’s third democratically elected President.

On 11 May 2009 Kgalema Motlanthe was sworn in as Deputy

President of the Republic of South Africa.

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Overview of SA Legislative Sector (SALS) progress in terms of

its oversight role

Hon Mr V M Sisulu, MP (Chairperson of the

Speakers’ Forum & Speaker: National Assembly (NA), Parliament of the Republic of South Africa (RSA))

Max Sisulu was elected Speaker of the National Assembly on 6th May 2009. Max Sisulu is a member of the National Executive Committee of the ANC and serves on its National Working Committee (NWC) and on its Finance committee. For the past 10 years he has headed

the ANC Economic Transformation Committee. From 1986 to 1990 Mr.Sisulu was the head of the ANC Department of Economic Planning (DEP) in Lusaka Zambia. The Department later relocated to South Africa in 1991. Sisulu established and became the first Director of the National Institute of Economic Policies (NIEP) in

1991. Mr. Sisulu was a Member of Parliament from 1994 to November

1998 and served as Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on the RDP (Reconstruction and Development Programmed). In 1997 he was appointed Chief Whip of the majority party (ANC). In this time, Mr Sisulu organized training programmes for Members of Parliament in Economics and Finance. From November 1998 – 2003 Mr Sisulu was Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Denel. From 2001 to 2003 he was the Chairman of the

South African Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Industries (AMD) Association. Mr Sisulu joined Sasol and served as one of its Group General Managers from 2003 to 2006. Mr Sisulu served as a non executive Director on a number of Boards, including the Human Science Research Council (HSRC); the National

Environment Advisory Forum (NEAF) advising the Minister and

Department of Environmental Affairs; the Board of Imperial Holdings, the Board of African Rainbow Mineral (ARM), Resolve Group, Chairman of Ukhamba Holdings, Chairman of Londani Coal; Chairman of African General Equity Logistics, and a trustee of the MK Military Veterans Association. Academic Qualifications Mr. Sisulu holds a Masters degree in Economics (MA) from the

Plekhanov National Economic Institute in Moscow, Russia, as well as a Masters Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the Kennedy School of Government, at Harvard University USA. In 1985, Sisulu was awarded a one year, Govan Mbeki research fellowship at the University of Amsterdam in Holland. Sisulu also did a research project with the University of Sussex’s Institute of Development Studies in Brighton UK, on new technologies and new work

methods.

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Message from the European Union – Supporting the SA

Legislative Sector in strengthening its oversight role

His Excellency Mr R van de Geer (Ambassador & Head of

Delegation of the European Union (EU) to South Africa)

Mr van de Geer is the new Head of the Delegation of the European Union to South Africa, the biggest donor globally and investing hugely in South Africa and Africa, also the SA

Legislative Sector. The EU and SA Legislative Sector also have a strategic partnership and engage in a dialogue process, of which the Consultative Seminar is an important aspect.

He has a background in public administration, political science and international relations. And has served in several capacities globally, of which recently as Special Representative for the

European Union to the Great Lakes region, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Afghanistan, and Representative of Foreign Affairs for the Netherlands.

Overview of African Peer Review Mechanism

Ms B Mbete (Chairperson of the ANC & Former Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa)

Baleka Mbete was the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa since 25 September 2008 - 9 May 2009; Chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC) Parliamentary caucus since 1995; Member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) since 1997 and National Working Committee since 1998; Member of National Executive Council (NEC) of African National Congress (ANC) since December 2007; National Chairperson of ANC since

December 2007; and President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union since April 2008. She matriculated from Inanda Seminary in Durban (1968); Obtained Teacher's Certificate from Lovedale Teachers' College (1973). She holds the following Post graduate courses with

University of Cape Town:

Framework for Governance (1998); Basic Principles of Public International Law (1999); International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law (2000); Theory and practice of conflict resolution (2005). She started as a Teacher at Isibonelo High School, KwaMashu, Durban (1974 - 1975), after which she went into exile and taught at Matter Dolorosa High School, Mbabane, Swaziland (1976 -

1977). She joined African National Congress (ANC) (1 May 1976); and worked in the ANC's Department of Information and Publicity (Radio Freedom) and Women's section in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (1977 - 1981). She became a Member of the ANC's Regional Secretary of Women's section (April 1978 - October 1981) and did Public Relations work (informal) for ANC in Nairobi, Kenya (1981 - 1983). She also worked in ANC underground

political structures in Gaborone, Botswana (1983 - 1986); and

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became Head of Medu Art Ensemble and member of the Southern African Arts Trust Fund since 1984. She served as a Member of

the ANC Regional Women's Committee and Regional Political Committee in Harare, Zimbabwe (1986 - 1987), while being Secretary to National Preparatory Committee for Women's section National Conference (April - September 1987). She became a Member of the Executive Committee in the capacity of Administrative Secretary in Lusaka, Zambia (1987 - 1990); and

Member of interim Leadership Core and member of Task Force of ANC Women's League (1990 - 1991). She progressed to Secretary-General of ANC Women's League (1991 - 1993) and therefore member of the ANC National Executive Committee (ex-officio) (1991 - 1993).

She was also a Member of the Panel of Chairpersons of the Multi-Party Negotiating process (1991 - 1994); and became National

Spokesperson, ANC Election Centre (January - April 1994). She served as a Member of the Presidential Panel on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission since 1995, while being a Member of the Constitutional Committee and National Assembly (1994). She was the Co-Chairperson of Theme Committee 6 and Member of its Core Group since 1994. She was elected as a full Member of the ANC National Executive Committee since 1994; and

Chairperson of Sub-Theme Committee 6 since 1994. She served on the International Advisory Panel for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) Director General (1998). She is a Member of the Advisory Board to the Desmond Tutu Leadership Academy. She also served on a

UNIFEM panel of experts to assist in engendering the Burundi

Peace Process (June / July 2000). She delivered conflict related presentations in South Africa and other African countries, sponsored by UNIFEM, Centre for Conflict Resolutions (CCR) and ACCORD. She served as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of South Africa (May 1996 - April 2004); and also the Leader of Parliamentary delegation to 9th Congress of Pan African

Women's Organisation (Boksburg) (2008). She was the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of South Africa from April 2004 until 25 September 2008.

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Launch of the SA Legislative Sector Oversight Model

Hon Ms L Maseko (Speaker: Gauteng Provincial Legislature & Political Sponsor: SALS Oversight Model)

Hon. Lindiwe Maseko is the first woman to be elected to the

position of the Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature in 2009. She has been a Member of the Provincial Legislature since 1994, at the dawn of democracy in South Africa and is regarded as one of the pioneers of an activist Legislature for her contributions in setting up of the tenets of a robust and democratic Legislature. In the period between 1994 and 2009, Hon. Maseko occupied

various positions of leadership in the Legislature, from being the ANC Whip to the Deputy Chairperson of two committees and later

to the Chairperson of the Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture as well as the Local Government committees. Her commitment and work ethics saw her rise within the ranks of the legislature and she was elected to the position of Deputy Speaker in the year 2000. In 2004 until 2009, she served as the

Chairperson of Committee’s Chairpersons in the legislature. In her current position as the Speaker, Hon. Maseko serves as the chairperson of the following forums: Legislature Services Board, Rules Committee, Programming Committee and the Gauteng Speakers’ Forum. The contributions of Hon. Maseko to the legislature sector went

beyond the boundaries of the Gauteng Province. She was appointed by the National Speaker’s Forum to lead the process of developing an oversight model for the South African Legislature sector. This work was completed in 2011 and the roll out of the

model to all legislatures started in 2012. At a continental level, Hon. Maseko served the legislative sector as a Regional Treasurer of the Commonwealth Africa Region.

It was at an international level that Hon. Maseko excelled in the legislative sector when she was elected to be the first Chairperson of the International Commonwealth Women’s Parliamentary Association In 2004. During her tenure in this position, she campaigned worldwide for improved women representation in parliaments and as a result of this work, a significant increase in the representation of women in Commonwealth Parliaments was

experienced, particularly in Africa, Asia and the Pacific areas. Her four-year term ended in 2007, she was persuaded to continue for another year but declined the nomination as she believed that she had empowered and mentored enough women that could

take over the reign. It was during this time that she received her highest honour to

date when the United Nations conferred on her the status of “Woman of Great Esteem” for her role in promoting the involvement of women in parliaments. The government of Ghana also bestowed on her the title of “Queen of Africa”, in recognition for her political and women empowerment roles. She is currently serving as part of the Commonwealth Secretariat and Commonwealth Parliamentary Association International

resource team which conducts inductions and post elections seminars in different parts of the world. Like many other Activists of her generation, Hon. Maseko was part of the political waves that swept through the townships of South Africa in the 1970s and raised her consciousness to the realities of those times. In the 1980s her involvement in politics

took a new turn when she became involved in the organization of

Women Against Repression (WAR). Her involvement in politics

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resulted in her dismissal at Nedbank where she had worked for 10 years as a banker.

In 1991, Hon. Maseko volunteered as an administrator at the ANC Provincial headquarters. The following year she worked as a personal assistant to Mr Tokyo Sexwale, former Premier of Gauteng Province and currently the Minister of Human Settlement as well as Mr Paul Mashatile also former Premier of Gauteng, currently the Minister of Arts and Culture and the Chairperson of

the ANC in Gauteng. It was during this time that she became disheartened by the harshness of the political environment and some of its people. Acting on Tokyo’s advice to “stop crying, roll up your sleeves and fight”, a “more assertive” Lindiwe emerged, heralding a new phase of her service for the ANC, which included

being a graduate of both the Cligendal and DSE Institutes of International Relations and Diplomacy in Holland and Germany

respectively. She has served in numerous leadership positions within the ANC and ANC Women’s league at Branch, Sub-region, Regional, Provincial and National levels. The most prominent being the positions of Provincial Treasurer of the ANC Gauteng for three terms consecutively, as well as being elected to the National Executive Committee of the ANC Women’s league.

Outside of her political leadership role, Ms Maseko is also a community activist and has been involved in the following organizations:

Founding member of the Soweto Heritage Trust which has since put Soweto on the world map as a tourist destination. Mayor of

Tsutsumani Athletics’ village during the hosting of the All Africa

Games in South Africa Elections observer in Mozambique, Bangladesh, Nigeria and

Zimbabwe. A trustee of the Gauteng Political Office Bearers Pension Fund and a Chairperson of its Board Nationally. The public profile of Hon. Maseko has led to her being requested by national and international organizations to give lectures on policy, governance and legislative topics. She has given lectures

on, amongst others:- Public Lecture on the Oversight Function of the Legislature:

Prospects and Challenges - Imo State House of Assembly, Nigeria; A lecture on Gender Awareness and Development: Representation of Women in Elective and Appointed Positions - River State, Nigeria; Delivered a paper to the UNDP Conference on Gender development.

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Topic 1: Approaches to oversight in Parliament and Provincial

Or Regional Legislatures

Dr WF Shija (Secretary-General: Commonwealth Parliamentary Association)

The Secretary-General is the chief executive officer of the Association. The Secretary-General is primarily responsible for representing the Association and promoting its aims and objectives. The Secretary-General maintains close links with the

Branches and provides advice and guidance on their activities and management. The Secretary-General also acts as secretary to meetings of the Executive Committee, the General Assembly and the Plenary Conference. The current Secretary General of the CPA is Dr William F. Shija. Dr William F. Shija, a former

Minister and Member of Parliament in Tanzania, assumed the office of CPA Secretary-General on 1 January, 2007. The

General Assembly on the nomination of the Executive Committee, appointed Dr Shija as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in September 2006. Dr Shija has a long been associated with the CPA in his capacity as an MP and as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Parliament of Tanzania.

Education: Howard University, Washington D.C. - PhD & MA in Mass Communication; BA in Journalism; Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism, New Delhi; Dip. Ed., Chang’ombe Education College, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Former Member, National Assembly of Tanzania, 1990-2005;

Minister: of Industry & Trade, 1997 -1998; of Energy & Minerals, 1994-1995; of Information & Broadcasting, 1992-1994; of Science, Technology & Higher Education, 1990 -1992; Regional Commissioner for Mwanza, 1994-1995; Principal Lecturer Nyegezi Social Development College, 1988 -1990; Lecturer Nyegezi Social Development College, 1978 -1982; Tutor – Civil Service College, 1972; Senior Instructor- Tabora

Secretarial College, 1972-76. He also served as Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, Tanzania National Assembly(1999-2005); Member and Chairman, Committee on Education, Culture, Tourism and Human Resources, Pan African Parliament (2004-2005). He has authored numerous academic, government and parliamentary policy papers in political economy, education, communications and development issues.

He is the CPA's Chief Executive Officer, responsible for the interpretation and implementation of its policies and the enhancement of its activities and is in charge of the CPA Secretariat located at Suite 700, Westminster House, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA.

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Mr J Lauze (Head of the Oversight Unit of the French National Assembly)

Jacques Lauze has been Head of the Oversight Unit of the French

National Assembly for 28 years. He holds a Masters degree in Public Service from the Institute of Political Sciences, Paris. His professional experience includes: Adviser: Studies and Research Department; Senior Adviser: Economy and Finance Standing Committee; Senior Adviser: Law Standing Committee; Head of the Legal Department; Senior

Adviser: Law Standing Committee, in charge of Constitutional Law, Home Affairs and the Commissions of Inquiry; Deputy

Director and Head of the Oversight Unit; and Deputy Director of the Public Finances Department. Other relevant Experience includes: Lecturer in Public Finances at the Paris Institute of Political Sciences and at University Paris II Panthéon-Assas.;Lecturer at the “Ecole Nationale d’Administration” (ENA)

from 1997 to 2001; Lecturer in Constitutional Law at University Paris V René Descartes. Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (2011).

Prof S Friedman (Director: Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Johannesburg)

Steven Friedman is Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at Rhodes University and the University of Johannesburg.

He is a political scientist who has specialized in the study of democracy. He researched and wrote widely on the South African transition to democracy both before and after the elections of 1994 and has, over the past decade, largely written on the relationship between democracy on the one hand, social inequality and economic growth on the other. In particular, he has stressed the role of citizen voice in strengthening democracy

and promoting equality. He is the author of Building Tomorrow Today, a study of the South African trade union movement and the implications of its growth for democracy, and the editor of The Long Journey and The Small Miracle (with Doreen Atkinson), which presented the

outcome of two research projects on the South African transition.

He is currently studying the role of citizen action in strengthening and sustaining democracy.

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Topic 2: The state of oversight in Parliament and Provincial or

Regional Legislatures: Quality, Capacity, Drivers and Hindrences

Hon Mr T Godi (Chairperson: Committee on Public Accounts)

Mr Godi was born and bred in the Village of Matsavana,

Bushbuckridge in the Mpumalanga Province on the 10th August 1966. His mother tongue is Shangane and he speaks English, Xhosa, Zulu, Suthu, Swati, Afrikaans and understands Venda and Ndebele. He attended primary school at Matsavana Primary School from 1973 to 1978, then moved to Muzila Junior Secondary School from 1979 to 1981 and completed his

secondary education at Hoyo-Hoyo High School from 1982 to 1983. Upon obtaining his matriculation certificate, he went to the University of the North (Turfloop) where he completed a B.A. (Paed) degree majoring in Education, Xitsonga and History from 1984 to 1988. He returned to his home town, Bushbuckridge where he took up a teaching position. He taught at Bondzeni High School (1989 to 1995) and Ian McKenzie High

School (1996 to 2000), English, History, Physical Science and Mathematics. Whilst teaching he furthered his studies and completed a B.A. Honours (History) degree through the University of South Africa (UNISA). Mr Godi’s political consciousness started very early in his life. He could not accept the political oppression of the people under the Apartheid Laws. He was deeply moved by the suffering and

poverty of the people around him and did not want to be a

spectator but wanted to be part of the struggle and bring change to the betterment of the oppressed. Mr Godi started his political activism as a secondary school student, matured at university and never relented even when he became a teacher. He has from the start been an ardent Africanist, inspired by revolutionaries such as Mangaliso Sobukwe, Thomas Sankara,

Kwame Nkrumah and many others. He became a Member of Parliament in February 2004 where he served on a number of Parliamentary Committees: Education, Labour, Social Development and Trade and Industry. In November 2005, he was appointed the first African Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) and

reappointed as chairperson of this committee in the Fourth Parliament. The Committee on Public Accounts scrutinises the reports of the Auditor-General on the administration and

management of public finances by government departments and public entities/parastatals. Mr Godi has run Scopa with spectacular success and has raised its public profile for the past three years. There is universal acclaim for his balanced, firm

and focused leadership and confidence that under his watch corruption, fraud and waste of public funds is not tolerated. He was the former deputy President of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) and is the founding President of the African People’s Convention (APC) that was formed in September 2007. It is under the leadership of Mr Godi that the APC has been transformed from being an idea into a dynamic

and a growing party. He is a strong believer in the restoration of the African personality and cultures; the unification and integration of Africa as well as the solidarity of all progressive

forces internationally.

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Dr R Pelizzo (World Bank Senior Consultant and Research Advisor on Legislative Affairs)

Riccardo Pelizzo received his Ph.D. in political science from the Johns Hopkins University (2004). A Legislative studies specialist, Riccardo Pelizzo has worked extensively on legislative oversight tools, public accounts committees, executive-legislative relations, legislative ethics and codes of conduct, and legislative behavior.

For his work, that was either published or translated into 10 languages, Riccardo Pelizzo has been the recipient of several

competitive research grants, honors and awards. Earlier this year he published with Rick Stapenhurst a monograph entitled Parliamentary Oversight Tools (Routledge, 2012) that investigates the political consequences of effective oversight. Riccardo Pelizzo is a consultant on legislative affairs for the

World Bank.

Ms T Ajam (Commissioner: Financial & Fiscal Commission & Public Finance Economist)

Tania Ajam: B.Bus.Sci. (UCT); B.A (Hones.)(Economics)(Can tab); M.Bus.Sci (UCT). Tania is a public finance economist with broad experience in the design, analysis and implementation of fiscal policy, sectoral public budget management and government-wide monitoring

and evaluation systems. Her principle areas of interest and

expertise are intergovernmental fiscal relations, fiscal decentralisation, budget and public expenditure management reform, the restructuring of fiscal institutions and processes, monitoring and evaluation and the role of information technology in enhancing performance orientation, accountability and public oversight.

While lecturing at the School of Economics, University of Cape Town she set up AFReC (Pty) Ltd, a research-based training and consulting company affiliated to the University of Cape Town in 1999 and was its CEO until 2011. During that period she was also the Managing Director of PBS (Pty) Ltd, a company which design performance information systems. Tania

currently serves on the Financial and Fiscal Commission as a part-time Commissioner, and chairs it’s Research Committee.

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Topic 3: Effective public involvement in the oversight processes Of Parliaments and Provincial or Regional Legislatures

Hon Mr MJ Mahlangu (Chairperson: National Council of Provinces, Parliament of RSA)

The Hon. Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu, commonly known as

“M.J’’, is one of the longest-serving politicians under South Africa’s new democratic order, having joined Parliament in 1994. A teacher by profession, the Hon. M.J. Mahlangu lists among his educational qualifications a BA Degree, from University of Fairfax, and is currently studying for a Diploma in Economics Principles through the University of London.

His public and political life started in the late 1960s when he was elected President of the Student Christian Movement, in the then Eastern Transvaal. From 1973 to 1976 he was Assistant Secretary of the Transvaal United African Teachers Association. Because of his active participation in politics in the 1970s and 1980s, he is one of the leaders who played a critical role in the processes leading to the first democratic South Africa in the early

1990s. Between 1991 and 1994, he was a negotiator at the Congress for Democratic South Africa (CODESA) and the Multiparty Negotiation Forum. In 1993, he became the Co-Chairperson of these bodies. From 1993 to 1994 he was a member of the Transitional Executive Council (TEC) which governed South Africa before the first general elections of April 1994.

After the 1994 elections, he joined the National Assembly in

Parliament as a representative of the African National Congress (ANC). As a member of the first democratic Parliament, he became a member of the Constitutional Assembly (CA), the body tasked with the drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which was adopted in 1996. As a member of the CA, he chaired the Core Group of the Theme Committee and the

Theme Committee on Structures of Government. During his tenure as a Member of the National Assembly, he also served as Chairperson of Committees. In 2002 he was elected permanent Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). After the third democratic elections in 2004, he was re-elected permanent Deputy

Chairperson of the NCOP. In January 2005 he was elected the Chairperson of the NCOP, the position he currently occupies. He has represented South Africa in many international

Conferences and Seminars such as the Study of the Role of the Senate, Germany in 1995; the Study of Intergovernmental Relations, India in 1999; Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Conferences; Inter Parliamentary Union 2003;

Speakers’ Conference, New York in 2005; 18th Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers’ Conference, Kenya in 2006; among many others. He has presented papers at international forums on behalf of Parliament. He is a member of the Pan-African Parliament (since 2003). His duties in this continental body include serving in the Committee on Rules, Privileges and Discipline. He serves in the committee’s

technical team tasked with coming up with proposals on the harmonisation of laws of Africa. He is the current Chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Africa Region). He

is a member of South Africa’s Judicial Service Commission, a body tasked with, among other things, recommending judges for

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appointment by the President. He is also involved in various community activities: Member of

the School Governing Body – Steel Crest High School, Middelburg (Mpumalanga); Executive Member of Paul Mthimunye Bursary Fund (Fundraising Desk for Bursaries for High School and Tertiary Level Students); and Executive Member of the Royal House of King Maphepha Ndebele Tribal Authority.

Ms A Girma (UNICEF Country Representative)

Aida Girma is the UNICEF Representative in South Africa. She took up her position on 17 October, 2008. Prior to her appointment as head of UNICEF South Africa, Ms.

Girma served as UNICEF Representative in Malawi for five years. She is the fifth Representative to hold the position in

South Africa since 1994, when the first cooperation agreement was signed between the Government of South Africa and UNICEF. Ms Girma joined UNICEF in 1991 and has since worked in various capacities. In addition to her the positions of Representative in Malawi and South Africa, Ms. Girma served as Deputy Representative of UNICEF in Mozambique and Somalia.

She also worked as programme planning and health systems specialist. From 2001 to 2003, Ms. Girma was seconded by UNICEF to the Joint UN Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) where she held the position of UNAIDS Country Coordinator in Mozambique. Prior to joining UNICEF, Ms. Girma worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the

UN Fund for Women (UNIFEM). With UNDP, she was responsible

for managing UNDP’s special assistance programme to the National Liberations Movements of Southern Africa, including ANC and PAC of South Africa, and SWAPO of Namibia. Originally from Ethiopia, Ms. Girma is a naturalized citizen of Italy. She was educated in her home country and in the United States. She holds an M.Sc. in Development Economics with

concentration in Community Development, from New Hampshire College, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA, as well as a B.Sc. in International Development (Human Services), from the same institution. She also studied Business Administration in the undergraduate programme at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin and obtained a Certificate in Management and Financing of Health Programmes

in Developing Countries from Harvard University, School of Public Health, Boston, Mass., USA in 1995. Ms. Girma is fluent in English and French and has working knowledge of Portuguese and Italian. Her mother tongue is Amharic. She is married and is the mother of an eight year-old son.

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Ms S Waterhouse (Parliamentary Programme Coordinator: Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape)

Samantha Waterhouse is currently the Coordinator of the Community Law Centre’s Parliamentary Programme, based at

the University of the Western Cape. She is responsible for strengthening civil society engagement with Parliament in order to facilitate parliamentary oversight on the delivery of key human rights obligations. She was previously employed at Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (RAPCAN) and before

that at Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust in senior advocacy positions. She has developed expertise in promoting social reform and advocating for development, reform and implementation of law and policy that promotes children’s and women’s rights.

Topic 4: The role of the Constitutional Institutions Supporting

Democracy (ISDs) in facilitating effective and proactive

oversight over the executive

Hon Adv Masutha (Standing Committee on Auditor-General)

Tshililo Michael Masutha, was born on 18 November 1965, with visual impairment (partially sighted) at Valdezia, Limpopo. Attended school at Siloe School for the Blind, 1972 – 1984, where he matriculated. He obtained a BIURIS Degree from the University of the North (in Limpopo) in 1988; an LLB Degree

from the University of Witwatersrand (Wits, Johannesburg) in 1990; a Higher Diploma in Company Law in 1992, but was only able to complete the first of the two years required to complete the Diploma due to work commitments. He was admitted to practice as an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa on 16 May 1995; and appointed Director of the Disability Rights Unit, lawyers for human rights January 1991 –

May 1996, to advance the human rights of disabled people in partnership with Disabled People South Africa (DPSA), locally, in Southern Africa and internationally. From May 1996 to June 1999: he was appointed Senior Legal Admin Officer, heading legal services at the National Department of Social Development. From 1999 – to date, he has been a Member of the National

Assembly, Parliament of the Republic of SA representing the

African National Congress. He has held the following positions in Parliament among others: Justice and Constitutional Development Committee; Constitutional Review Committee; Social Development; Rules Committee; Programming and several Ad Hoc Committees. Was

a Committee Whip for Social Development, House Whip in the National Assembly, Chairperson of Review of Rules Subcommittee under the Rules Committee, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Auditor-General. He formed the Blind Student Committee in 1985 to represent blind students at the University of the North. Established the Northern Transvaal Association of the Blind in

1986, to advance the human rights of blind people. Became an executive member of the SA national council for the blind 1989

– 1996 and challenged discriminatory laws in the council against blind people (black in particular), under apartheid.

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Adv T Madonsela (Public Protector)

Adv Thulisile (Thuli) Nomkhosi Madonsela was appointed as Public Protector SA by the President on the recommendation of Parliament with effect from 15 October 2010. At the time of her appointment, Adv Madonsela was the only full-time Commissioner in the South African Law Reform Commission.

Before then, she held various leadership positions in civil society and the public sector. These include membership of the inaugural Commission for Commission for Employment Equity and the Steering Committee of the legal Services Charter and various executive management positions in the Department of Justice and constitutional Development.

One of the 11 Technical Experts that assisted the Constitutional Assembly in drafting South Africa’s new Constitution, Adv Madonsela is a human rights lawyer, equality expert, constitutional analyst and policy specialist, who holds a BA Law and LLB degrees. She has also done post graduate studies in various areas of the law, including Constitutional Law, Equality, Administrative Justice and Developmental Law. Her post

graduate studies include executive leadership courses in areas such as leadership, strategic planning, project management and ADR. She is the co-architect of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, the Employment Equity Act and Local Government Transition Act. She has also contributed to laws such as the Promotion of Administrative

Justice Act, Repeal of the Black Administration Act, Recognition

of Customary Marriages Act and the reform of Customary Law and Related matters Act. She has played a central role in the drafting of various transformational policies and related instruments, which include Justice Vision 2000, the Victims Charter, National Gender Policy Framework and the policy framework that formed the basis of the Ministry for Women,

Children and Disability Affairs. She has written extensively, published and provided training on various aspects of the law, equality and human rights in general. Her work includes co-authoring the Bench Book for Equality Courts, a Resource Book for Equality Court Clerks, a Legal advice Handbook on Family Law and Related Matters and

handbooks on Gender Management, gender mainstreaming and Leadership. Born in Johannesburg, to a working class family, in 1962, Adv.

Madonsela has had extensive involvement in international human rights work, which has included the drafting of certain instruments, drafting of country reports and participating in country delegations to various international conferences and

related fora.

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Mr B Mthembu (Chairperson: Public Service Commission)

Ben Mkhonto Mthembu hails from Witbank (Emalahleni) in

Mpumalanga Province and was appointed Chairperson of the Public Service Commission in August 2011. He holds a BA Hons (University of South Africa); Masters in Public and Development Management (University of the Witwatersrand); and also obtained the following Diplomas and Certificates: Post Graduate Diploma in Educational Administration, Planning and Social Policy (University of Cape

Town); Post Graduate Diploma in Tertiary Education (UNISA); Advanced Diploma in Economic Policy (University of the

Western Cape); Certificate in Economics and Public Finance (UNISA); Certificate in Information and Knowledge Management from Rhodes University. His professional career included being a Lecturer at Mgwenya College of Education; and Head of Social Sciences. He was also

Chief Education Specialist for Planning Policy at the Mpumalanga Department of Education. He was first appointed as a Public Service Commissioner in October 2009, after serving as a Member of Parliament between 1999 – 2009. He first served on the Portfolio Committee on Public Services and Administration which exercised oversight to

ensure accountability of executives on execution of policy and legislation. He also served on the following Portfolio Committees: Education, Home Affairs and Joint Monitoring Committee on Quality of Life and Status of Women.

Dr T Maitse (Acting Chairperson: Commission for Gender Equality)

Dr. Teboho Maitse has a background as an activist in the struggle for the empowerment of women and an academic. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom where she also taught research methods to Masters students of Women’s Studies. On her return home, she was employed as Coordinator of the Women’s Empowerment Unit, an outfit that was set up by the

Speakers’ Forum of the Parliament of RSA and Provincial Legislators to empower women Parliamentarians. She also worked as a researcher for the Women’s Development Bank. This job involved conducting research in the rural areas of Limpopo and Mpumalanga to determine how women used the

loans they received from the bank. The Bank sent her to India and Bangladesh to learn about micro financing in order to help

understand how these loans worked. She also served as the Chairperson on the Charities’ sector of the National Lottery from 2001 to 2011. She is currently serving her second term as a Commissioner at the Commission on Gender Equality, one of the Chapter Nine Institutions supporting and protecting democracy. Finally, she serves on the

working committee of Malibongwe Women in Development since 2001.

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Topic: Proposals on collaboration with Parliament and the Provincial Legislatures of South Africa

Ms P Mbele (Positive Women’s Network)

Ms. Prudence Mabele obtained a Diploma in Electrical

Engineering, Diploma in Psychology, and Certificates on “Women in Management”, “Strategizing towards success and enhancing management of fundraising skills”, “HIV and AIDS leadership and capacity building”, and “Monitoring and Evaluation for Sexual and Reproductive Health Programs”. She is the Executive Director /founder of the Positive Women’s

Network, and a founding member of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), as well as the National Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS of South Africa (NAPWA). On 13 November 2011 received an Award in Ghana as a Woman of Substance for being a mobiliser par excellence with a vision and commitment to the advancement of women with HIV and AIDS, and a source of hope to women. She has been

studying Management Advancement Programme in Witwatersrand Business School in 2010. She also sits on the African Women’s Leaders Network that is addresses Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for women in Africa. Prudence Mabele has been living positively with HIV for more than 19 years and has been a prominent South African activist and an expert in the field of HIV and AIDS

since 1992. An advocate for people living with HIV, Ms. Mabele has played a pioneering role in a wide range of organisations – from grassroots up to Cabinet and International level – and usually as a volunteer! Ms. Mabele was one of the first black women in South Africa to be open about her HIV status, a courageous decision when you remember that at that time mainly white gay men were open

about their status and we were still two years away from the first democratic elections in 1994. It was during 1992 that key South African human rights network, the AIDS Consortium, was established by Edwin Cameron – with Ms. Mabele as a founder member and later executive committee chair. In the course of 1993 Ms. Mabele volunteered at the Red Cross

Children’s Hospital in the anti natal clinic – counselling HIV positive mothers and babies. This experience inspired Ms.

Mabele to establish the Positive Women Network in 1996 – when it became evident that some of the trauma could be alleviated through counseling and support networks. The South African National Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS was established in 1995 and Ms. Mabele was one of

the founder members responsible for much of the groundwork and strategic policy work required in setting up and NGO from scratch. In 1996 Ms. Mabele worked with Yale University and the South African Department of Health introducing female condoms in South Africa. This involved the training of healthcare workers and doctors in nine provinces of South Africa. Once again Ms.

Mabele was ahead of her time and learned to confront and challenge prejudices both at community level and in the healthcare profession.

During the course of 1997 Ms. Mabele contributed to the

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establishment of Positive Art, and later was appointed as the organisation’s coordinator. Positive Art generates funds by

creating arts and crafts, and supports children infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. Also in 1997 Ms. Mabele worked extensively with African countries as a member of the Commonwealth sponsored programmes called Positive Young Ambassadors of Hope which attempts to increase the visibility of HIV and youth. This led to

her work for United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a GIPA (Greater Involvement of People living with HIV and AIDS) consultant to enhance the acceptance of HIV positive persons among different stakeholders. Building on this expertise she worked with the South African Department of

Health as a gender focus officer and as community liaison officer for the Faces of AIDS Project – this promoted the

visibility of HIV positive people in the country. Some of the aid organisations, regional bodies and governments that Ms. Mabele has worked with are UNAIDS, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations FPA, the World Bank, Organisation of African Unity and the African Union, and the governments of Venezuela, Botswana, Nigeria, and the United States.

Much of this activity and the resultant growing awareness of the extent of the crisis would contribute to the launch of the Treatment Action Campaign in 1998 – a significant period in the fight against HIV and AIDS – where Prudence once again assumed a crucial leadership role as a black HIV positive

woman – in a country where stigma continued to be a serious

threat and treatment was largely unavailable now involved with the Stigma Index which is being lead by UNAIDS and HRSC with her organisation PWN. Over and above these profound networking activities, Ms. Mabele continues to serve as the executive director of Positive Women’s Network which provides support to women at community level. The PWN facilitates support group activities,

refers positive women requiring services to appropriate health facilities, and advocates for the rights of HIV positive women. It has been a key player in South Africa in the campaign for access to treatment with ARV’s. Ms. Mabele is also a representative on the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) that advises the Deputy President and Cabinet ministers on issues relating to responses to the HIV and AIDS

epidemic. She represents Progressive Women’s Movement in South Africa at plenary level. She has written about women and AIDS in Africa and also devised a manual for grassroots organisations on how to set up NGO without formal skills – this has been distributed globally. It is a tribute to her international profile that she was one of the

Olympic torch bearers for the Athens 2004 Olympic Torch Relay event where the theme was Pass the flame unite the world. This worldwide relay united the five continents and travelled to 33 cities in 26 countries.

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Mr T Hughes (African Legislatures Project, Democracy in Africa Research Unit, Centre for Social Science Research, University of Cape Town)

Timothy Hughes is a Research Fellow at the South African

Institute of International Affairs. He holds a B.A. (Hons) and MA (cum laude) from the University of Cape Town (UCT). He is currently Parliamentary Research Fellow and Programme Head at the South African Institute of International Affairs; as well as Senior Research Associate of the African Legislatures Programme (ALP), UCT Study, since 2001.

In 2001, he Lectured in Comparative Government,

Public Administration in the Department of Political Studies, UCT. During 1996 to 2001 he was the Director and Chief

Executive Officer, Appleton & Vuyo (Kopano ke Matla Congress of South African Trade Unions Investment Trust/Park Group PLC JV). During 1987 – 1996, he was the Head of the Academic Development Programme, and Researcher at the Institute for Public Policy. He was Deputy Manager of the Garden Cities

Housing Associate (Not For Gain) during 1984 – 1986; and during the period, 1982 – 1983, he was a Researcher at the Second Carnegie Inquiry into Poverty in South Africa.

1987-1996: Related research experience has focussed on the areas of natural resource governance in Africa and the role of parliaments. In particular he is concerned with the role of

parliaments and natural resource revenues and works closely with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in Africa. He has worked and written extensively in the field of conflict diamonds and has been a regular participant in the Kimberley

Process Certification Scheme as well as the Diamond Development Initiative. He has conducted research into conflict and natural resources in Angola, the DRC and Tanzania. He has

also conducted secondary research into conflict in the Niger Delta, particularly with respect to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta. In 2008 he presented to the African Union in Addis Ababa, as well as to the 2009 Mining in Africa Conference on enhancing the governance of Africa’s mineral resources. Tim has delivered

research papers and seminars at Princeton, Cambridge University, University of Jerusalem, Lancaster University, Williams College, University of Dar es Salaam, University of Stellenbosch, University of the Western Cape, University of

Pretoria, Al Akhawayn and the Gordon Institute of Business Science.

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Topic: Independent analysis and recommendations on the way forward in terms of Legislative oversight

Professor Shadrack B. O. Gutto: LLB (Hons) (Nairobi, Kenya);

M.A.L.D. (Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy/Tufts, USA); PG Diploma in International and Comparative Human Rights Law (Strasbourg, France); Ph D (Lund, Sweden). Born in Kisii, Kenya, in 1951 (ancestral home); naturalised South African Citizenship in October 2000. Lecturer and Research Fellow, Faculty of Law and the Institute of Development Studies, University of Nairobi, respectively

(1978-1982). In 1982, during the then Kenyan Government’s crackdown on critical academics, he was forced into exile and lived in Graz, Austria and London, the U.K. Moved to Zimbabwe as Lecturer, Law Faculty, University of Zimbabwe (1983-1988) and founding editor of the Zimbabwe Law Review. Declared a persona non grata for unspecified “national security” grounds in 1988. Granted Convention refugee status in Sweden in 1989. Senior Teaching and Research

Fellow and doctoral student, Institute of Sociology of Law, Lund University (1989 - March1994). Associate Professor, Law Faculty and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand from April 1994; Deputy Director (1995-1998) and Acting Director (2000-2001). Headed the Land Rights Research Programme and lectured in Public International Law, Human Rights, Property Law and Land Reform, Constitutional Law and Jurisprudence.

Supervised masters and doctoral students. Was Co-Chairperson of

Wits University Transformation/Institutional Forum 1996-2000. Full Professor and Chair of African Renaissance Studies & Director of the (postgraduate) Institute for African Renaissance Studies, University of South Africa (UNISA) – managing and mainly supervising masters and doctoral students: June 2003-August 2011; August 2011- Professor and Coordinator of programme in management of democratic

elections in Africa; Professor Extraordinaire at the Faculty of Humanities, Tshwane University of Technology (2008-); Non-Executive Chairperson at Maluleke Seriti Makume Matlala (Attorneys) Inc (2007-2011). Member of UNISA Senate and Senate Executive Committee (2006-2012), and deputy chair of Senate Publications Committee; Academic planner and coordinator of the Government of

South Africa-UNISA-Government of Southern Sudan human capacity and institutions’ building project (2004-2010). Published widely in local and international legal and political economy and cross-

disciplines professional and academic journals. A member of a number of committees and boards of statutory bodies, e.g. the Constitutional Matters Committee of the Rules Board for Courts of Law, Land Restitution Trust, Equality Review Committee and the Policy and

International Liaison Committee of the South African Human Rights Commission. Sits on a number of advisory and control boards and boards of trustees of national and regional non-governmental legal and human rights organs of civil society. Treasurer, Arusha AU-NEPAD Human Rights Trust Fund. Treasurer, Vice-President and President, Society of Teachers of Law of Southern Africa (1998-2000, 2000-2001 and 2002-3, respectively). Special adviser and one of the drafters of

Restitution of Land Rights Act and Communal Property Associations Act (1994-1996) and Equality Act (2000), Communal Land Rights Act (2004) and Protection of Information Bill (2008); has provided

constitutional legal opinions, conducted commissioned research and judicial training; participated in legislative drafting for several

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ministries and departments in the Government (land affairs, justice, health, education, arts, science & technology and intelligence).

Chaired the National Legal Aid Transformation Team (1998-1999) and the Ministerial Panel of Experts on the Development of Policy on Ownership of Land by Foreigners (2004-2007); Member of the National Refugee Relief Fund Board; Member of the Steering Committee of the Legal Services Charter (2004-2007). Has participated in human rights national needs assessment, programmes

development and monitoring missions for the then UN Centre for Human Rights (Lesotho & Namibia) and Amnesty International (Sierra Leone). Ad-hoc legal expert consultant to the International Commission of Jurists (1996), the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and United Nations Development

Programme (October 2001-2007), African Union and NEPAD (2002-2011), the International Bar Association (2002-3); Part-time Special

Adviser to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development on transformation of the justice sector (2004 - 2008); Part-time Advisor to the Minister of Housing (2005-2008); Advisor to the National House of Traditional Leaders (2007-); Co-Team Leader: APRM-CRM to Nigeria (2008); Research on constitutional, legislative and policy mandates of the Department of Public Works; the media analyst and commentator on law, politics, society and African Renaissance.

Columnist for This Day 2003-2004 and occasional columnist for Enterprise Magazine (2008-9) and The Thinker (2009-). A member of editorial boards of accredited, peer reviewed, academic and professional journals such as the South African Yearbook of International Law and founding editor of the nationally and

internationally accredited International Journal of African Renaissance

Studies: Multi-, Inter- and Transdisciplinarity (IJARS)