Chumisa Thengwa

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP – Total 8 years

October 2021 – January 2024 :                eThekwini         Municipality:                        Deputy         Head:                Biodiversity Management– Acting Deputy Head: Climate Change – 2.5 years

• Provide strategic direction to the Biodiversity Management, Climate Change and Energy functions of the Municipality – total staff compliment of more than 50 including administrative, technical, middle management and senior management.
• Annual budget of R60 million excluding Staff related costs

June 2016 – September 2021:                           eThekwini   Municipality:   Acting   Deputy Head: Environmental Planning and Climate Protection– 5 years

KEY RESPONSIBILITY AREAS

1. The development, implementation and review of the Durban Metropolitan Open Space System (D’MOSS) Plan and associated finescale Systematic Conservation Plan (SCP);
2. State of Biodiversity reporting
3. The development, implementation and revision of an application review, assessment, compliance monitoring and enforcement system aimed at protecting and managing the biodiversity and natural resource base of the city and ensuring appropriate climate protection;
4. a Municipal Climate Protection Programme (MCPP);
5. the development of appropriate biodiversity and climate protection-focused policies and advocacy, lobbying and communication strategies.
6. the development and implementation of large-scale biodiversity and climate protection projects that address inter alia the needs of job creation, biodiversity protection and management, climate change adaptation and mitigation and the development of a local green economy.
7. Overseeing the development and implementation of an Energy Transition Policy for the city
8. Overseeing the City’s implementation of the Paris Agreement Compliant 1.5 degree Climate Action Plan
9. Overseeing the development and implementation of an Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management Programme
10. Overseeing the development of the city’s New Buildings Programme and the Incentives Policy

INTERNATIONAL PRESENCEAND KEY ACHIEVEMENTS IN THIS ROLE

Urban 20 Riyadh – Durban Sous-Sherpa and Chair of the NatureBased Urban Solutions Taskforce

In 2020 I served in the Urban 20, an engagement group of the G20 that is convened by the C40 Cities Leadership Group and the United Cities and Local Government to elevate the voice of cities to the deliberations of the G20. In my capacity as a Sous-Sherpa for the City of Durban, I chaired the Nature-Based Solutions Task Team, leading a team of 14 cities, 15 knowledge partners and other participating organisations to deliver 6 policy briefs with 17 key recommendations towards the communique to the G20.

The Bremen-Durban Climate Change Partnership

From 2017 I was Durban’s representative of the Climate Change Partnership with the City of Bremen as part of the long standing sister-city diplomatic relationship between the 2 cities. To date, the partnership has successfully conceptualized more than 14 climate change projects, successfully applied for donor funding from the German Service Agency, Engagement Global and together implemented these projects in line with the agreement with the donor. One such project, the Bremen-Durban Marine Environmental Education Network (Ocean Champs Programme), led by myself was part of the submission that won the partnership the German Sustainability Award in 2019.

The C40 Cities Finance Facility– Durban ProjectLead of the CFF funded Transformative Riverine Management Programme

In 2018, Durban was awarded R14 000 000 donor funding from the C40 Cities Finance Facility to develop a business case for scaling up on the nature based efforts that the City of Durban had been implementing to improve adaptive capacity of the 7400km length of rivers. I led this work from inception, chairing the multidisciplinary Business Case Task Team, providing strategic direction and reporting to the key partners.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT – 6 YEARS

May 2010 – May 2016: eThekwini Municipality: Senior Manager: Biodiversity Impact Assessment and Municipal Compliance – 6 years

KEY AREAS OF PERFORMANCE

1. Oversight of the Biodiversity Impact Assessment, Compliance Enforcement and Municipal Environmental Legal Compliance functions of eThekwini Municipality
2. Financial Control
3. Biodiversity Impact Assessment and Decision Making
4. Implementation Of Environmental Legislation

Legal Compliance - manages, mitigates (and where possible) prevents environmental impact caused by municipal activities in order to ensure effective implementation and compliance of municipal projectswith national and provincial environmental legislation.

1. Environmental Management And Planning System - contributes to the preparation and implementation of relevant environmental management and planning systems and policies in order to ensure that the strategicplanning objectives of eThekwini municipality are met.
2. Integrating Biodiversity/Environmental Impact Assessment Principles Into Strategic Plans And Frameworks
3. Project Management
4. Relationship Management
5. Administration

ACHIEVEMENTS

1. Successfully led municipal review of complex EIA’s on high biodiversity habitats for the following projects
   1. King Shaka International Airport Development
   2. Dube Tradeport Support Zone
   3. Clairwood Industrial and Logistics development
   4. Keystone Logistics Platform
   5. Successfully negotiated suitable offsets on all of the above and oversaw implementation thereof

EDUCATION

1995                            Lehana Senior Secondary School, Matriculation Exemption 1996 – 1999 University of the Transkei, BSc (Statistics and Zoology) 2000            University of the Transkei,BSc (Honours) (Zoology)

2007 – 2009                Universityof the Free State, Masters in Environmental Management (Resources and Processes, CorporateEnvironmental Management & Sustainability, Water, Pollution & Rehabilitation Management, mini-thesis: “Linking Land Use Practices with Ecological Integrity of the Umngeni River, Durban”)

OTHER COURSES

2001                            University of Fort Hare

Webpage design, Java Programming

2003                            Olive Organisational Development and Training

Leadership Skills, Participatory Rural Appraisal

2006                            University of Potchefstroom.

Environmental Law for Environmental Managers

2012                            ETDP-SETA

                                    Conduct Outcomes Based Assessments

2013                            PALAMA – University of the Free State

Emerging Management Development Programme.

2013                            South African Department of Environmental Affairs

                                    Environmental Management Inspector Basic Training

2014                            University of Potchefstroom – CEM

Environmental Law and Co-Operative Government for Local Government Officials