Gauteng Committee

This page is managed by the Gauteng Branch of YWP-ZA.

You can contact us at YWP.Gauteng@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like to get more involved. We would love to hear from you!

Provincial Lead: Niel Louw

Niel holds a Master's Degree in International Relations from the University of Stellenbosch.

Niel has been actively involved in the South African water sector since 2013, starting his career as a researcher at the Stellenbosch University Water Institute (SUWI) and currently working as an analyst in water security for the South African state.

Deputy Lead: Audrey Maake

Audrey is a post-graduate student at the University of Johannesburg. She is a former student of Rhodes University at the Institute for Water Research and a graduate from the University of Venda. She is also an alumni of the UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands. She has vast knowledge and experience in water and wastewater, from institutions including Rand Water, Ekurhuleni Water Care Company and the Water Management Unit of the Department of Public Works.

Audrey has presented and participated in various national and international platforms including the 2013 Wetskills International Challenge, International Water Week Conference, RAI Amsterdam, the Dutch Students Challenge, all in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She has also presented and shared her expertise in a number of biennial conferences including the Southern African Young Water Professionals’ conferences and the Water Institute of Southern Africa conferences in South Africa.

Her research interests have been on community water supplies, water quality, wastewater and sanitation, waste beneficiation and rehabilitation of water resources. She is coach and mentor for young professionals in the water sector and practices part-time lecturing, given the opportunity.

She is currently the Vice Lead for the Young Water Professionals in the YWP Gauteng Chapter, and an active member of the YWP South Africa. She is also a registered Professional
Scientist with SACNASP and an affiliate member of WISA.

Coordination Lead: Penester Tjale

Penester holds a B-tech in Geology from the Tshwane University of Technology, she is currently an MSc student in Environmental Science with the University of South Africa. She is passionate about young people and their role in the water sector.

Finance Lead: Hamilton Moswathupa

He has a love for data and analytics and is passionate about realizing an increased use of data in solving national issues around water security. Hamilton holds a Master’s Degree in Hydrogeology from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Hamilton started his career in 2013 with SRK Consulting (SA) (Pty) Ltd as an Intern Hydrogeologist and
worked his way to becoming a Senior Hydrogeologist. He has extensive experience as a groundwater
management consultant for the mining industry (cement, diamond, gold, nickel, copper and coal
commodities), petrochemical industry (forecourt) and for government entities (municipalities and
parastatals).

He has been involved in field work programs of varied scopes across South Africa, Lesotho,
DRC and Zambia. In addition, he has offered consulting services remotely to clients across Angola,
Namibia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

He is passionate about sustainable groundwater resource development and management. He is a
registered Professional Scientist with SACNASP.

Events Lead: Tawenda Ndekha

Recently graduated with a BSc In Land and Water resources management honours degree from the Midlands State University in Zimbabwe. A motivated hardworking adaptable and responsible gentleman carrying an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset with a sharp sense of achievement and commitment. Passionate about the waste water treatment technologies.

Publications Lead: Dr Tebogo Mashifana

Dr Mashifana is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Johannesburg in the Department of Chemical Engineering Technology. She has completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree with Cum-laude. She holds a PhD degree in Civil Engineering obtained at the age of 30, MBA degree obtained at 31 and a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education. She is currently enrolled for a programme in Artificial Intelligence for Industry. She is registered as a Professional Engineering Technologist with the
Engineering Council of South Africa.

Dr Mashifana has received several accolades, including being featured in the list for Mail&Guardian 200 Young South Africans 2019 and the list for the 2019 Top 100 Young Independent in SADC, she is also a finalist for 2019 Gauteng Women Excellence Awards (category:
Young Women Achiever of the Year). She is a winner for Fifty Inspiring South African 2020 and a
recipient of Southern African Women in Leadership Top 10 Trailblazer award 2020. Dr Tebogo is a
Golden Key International Honour Society Honorary member. She serves as Institutional Advisory Board
Convenor at Africa Cooperatives Institute of South Africa. She is a Lead for Publication Portfolio at Young Water Professional (Gauteng). She serves in the South African Global Change Science Committee, and several committees within her institution. Dr Mashifana is a Goodwill Global Ambassador, an advocate for education and a founding member of Dr Tebogo Mashifana & amp; Partners Foundation, a Non-Profit organization focusing on community upliftment projects and youth empowerment.

She devotes her time to mentor and encourage young girls and women to pursue careers in STEM and empowering them through skill transfer and human capacity development. She is self-motivated, goal orientated and driven and an individual who believes in lifting other as she rises. Her research area is in wastewater treatment and solid wastes beneficiation to convert waste materials to value-added products.

Recruitment Lead: Buntu Fanteso

Buntu Fanteso completed his BSc Environmental Studies at the Walter Sisulu University in 2017. In 2018 he enrolled for a BSc Honours in Geography (Geoinformatics and Strategic Environmental Planning) at the University of Johannesburg where he is completing An MSc in Environmental Management.

Buntu has been involved in different water training programmes including SASS 5, his passion in the water sector includes unlocking alternative sources of water to alleviate water scarcity and investigating emerging pollutants in freshwater ecosystems.