They are filling the vacancies left after the departure of Ms Phumelele Nzimande, Dr. Tanja Bosch and Ms Nebo Legoabe who served and completed their full terms. Ms Louw and Mr. Mahapa were reappointed after accepting being re-nominated by the commercial print media and commercial broadcast media.
The brief information on the new Board members is as follows: -
Mr Jimmy Manyi, a Chartered Marketer, is the CEO of GCIS and Cabinet spokesperson. He is both the former Director-General at the Department of Labour and an overall convenor of government in National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac). He has over 20 years experience in the corporate environment; mainly in blue-chip companies and multinationals. He is the former chairperson of the Commission for Employment Equity with extensive experience working at Nedlac. Manyi's corporate experience spans key sectors of the South African economy. He has experience in both operational (line) and support functions at executive level. Manyi has participated in the drafting of the various transformation charters, including the Financial and ICT Sector Charter and Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Codes of Good Practice. Manyi joined the public service in response to the call by the President of South Africa to assist government and he has been encouraging other professionals to do so. Jimmy Manyi worked for just under seven years at executive level for companies such as Barclays Bank PLC and Nedcor Group (People's Bank). In these companies he served in various roles including running the business banking division, marketing, business development, BBBEE and Government relations. Jimmy Manyi worked for about four years at Toyota SA in sales. At the time of his departure, Manyi had risen to General Manager at Toyota SA. Under his purview at Toyota SA, he also visited Toyota's vehicle manufacturing plants in Japan. Manyi also worked for about ten years at Anglo American as both mining and exploration geology professional.
Manyi worked for IBM in the capacity of Director: Corporate Affairs. Further to this, Manyi also worked for more than three years at Tiger Brands / Adcoc as Group Executive: Corporate Affairs. Mr Manyi holds a National Higher Diploma in Economic Geology, Harvard Alumnus (Senior Executive Programme) and passed Board Exam as Chartered Marketer. He has served as Chairperson of BMF Investments Company , Member of International Marketing Council Board, Member of BBBEE Advisory Council sub-committee, President of the Black Management Forum (BMF).
Ms Ingrid Louw is the CEO of Print Media SA and she served as the Acting Chief Financial Officer of the National Electronic Media Institute of SA (NEMISA) from November 2005 to October 2006 and Senior Manager of Corporate Services. She also served as the Administration and Finance Manager and Makana Investment Corporation - MIC and Makana Trust (Ex -Robben Island Prisoners) from April 2001 to February 2003 and Administration and Finance Manager: Makana Media and Communications from July 1999 to March 2001. She served as the Administration and Finance Manager at Kaya FM (Moribo Investments - a division of Thebe Investments and was also the Assistant Financial Accountant/Human Resources Officer at Willow Crescent Secondary School. Ms Louw was Chairperson of the MAPPPSETA, Chairperson of the MDDA Audit Committee and was also a lecturer to the employees of GJTMC.
Mr Thato Mahapa started his career at the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) where he served as a licensing officer and as Manager - Compliance (ECN/S) until December 2010. He was extensively involved in its functions of licensing, compliance monitoring as well as other regulatory responsibilities. He also served on various committees including the licensing of Subscription Broadcasting services, the Licence Conversion process, the prescription of Annual Licence Fees Regulations, the Review of Universal Service and Access obligations, the prescription of regulations on USAF contributions and also led some of the projects. In January 2011, he then joined TopTV as the Senior Manager - Regulatory Affairs. In this role, he is responsible for ensuring compliance with all regulatory responsibilities of the company as well as providing support to all business divisions, working closely with the Legal Division. As part of this role, he also represents the company on the National Association of Broadcaster's Executive Committee.
Ms Rene Alicia Smith is a Media & Development researcher, scholar and speaker. She has served on a range of governing boards and committees; including the Review Board of the Film & Publication Board, where she served two terms, and Icasa's Broadcasting Monitoring & Complaints Committee (precurser to the CCC). She has worked in & consulted for civil society, public and private sectors and has lectured in media & communications at various institutions across South Africa. She is currently Senior Lecturer in the Media, Language and Communications Department at Durban University of Technology (DUT) and has just completed a PhD in Media & Cultural Studies.
Mr Phenyo Nonqane is a seasoned professional equipped with a Master of Philosophy degree in South African Politics and Political Economy from the University of Port Elizabeth (now Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University). His dissertation's topic was: "An analysis of major South African newspapers reportage of core South African foreign affairs, events and issues. He also hold a Bachelor of Arts (Journalism) degree from Rhodes University and was awarded a certificate in management by the Wits Business School. He has worked for a non-governmental organisation, provincial and national government departments and the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. The following are his notable achievements:
The MDDA welcomes the new Board members to the team, commit to working with and supporting them, look forward to their wisdom, leadership and guidance, and wish them all the best in the quest to pursue the mandate enshrined in the MDDA Act. The wealth of their diverse expertise and experience viewed collectively will strengthen and enhance the work of the MDDA.
Further and again we take this opportunity to thank and salute the outgoing members Ms Phumelele Nzimande, Dr Tanja Bosch and Ms Nebo Legoabe for the sterling work done and hope to continue counting on their support in the mammoth challenge of transforming and diversifying the media.
