UJ Alumni Impumelelo Magazine Edition 9

MR LESEDI SENAMELE MATLALA Researcher and evaluator, JET Education Services

publications, and regularly presents at conferences. Matlala also serves as executive director of Career Avenue and Education, an NGO that creates in-depth career exhibitions for geographically isolated learners. Matlala is a PhD candidate at the University of Johannesburg, researching how new technologies are impacting monitoring and evaluation in the public sector. “Learning something new every day is what motivates me to get out of bed.” BA Politics, 2015, BA Hons Public Management and Governance, 2015, MA Public Management and Governance, 2019, Post Graduate Diploma Labour Law, 2019 proudest moment was when she was appointed to the National Development Agency Board by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2021. Mulaisi is pursuing a PhD in economics at the University of Johannesburg. She realised there is no age to have things figured out and encourages herself and others to be more patient and kinder to themselves. “Be consistent and show up even when you don’t feel like it — it pays off in the end.” BCom Economics and Econometrics, 2011, BCom Hons Economics, 2015, MCom Development Economics, 2017 the importance of trusting her own judgment and taking full responsibility for her choices. She is motivated to excel by her love for her career, country, and continent. Political science provides Nagar with a unique lens through which the world can be understood, and she is inspired by its transformative potential. Her ambitions reside in the hope to see a more inclusive and equitable society. “My work strongly advocates for a revival of civil society in a bottom- up approach to development.”

Lesedi Senamele Matlala works as an educational researcher and is involved in various youth development projects. Through his work and research at JET Education Services he hopes he can change South Africa’s education system. “It’s only through the development of the social welfare system and appropriate government policy that the disadvantaged may be helped and protected,” he says. JET Education Services is an NGO that works to improve the quality of education in South Africa, regularly working with government and educational institutions and organisations. In his role as monitoring and evaluation officer, Matlala has authored a number of Lebogang Mulaisi is labour market policy coordinator at Cosatu who coordinates and implements its labour market policy and the just transition to a low carbon economy. As a member of the National Economic Development and Labour Council’s executive committee, she represents organised labour in the labour market chamber. Mulaisi is also a commissioner on the Presidential Climate Change Coordinating Commission. Her goal is poverty eradication through job creation that pays workers a decent wage. Surprised by how much she enjoys trade union work, Mulaisi never expected to contribute to society at the scale she does now. Her Marcel Nagar is a senior postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Johannesburg, focusing on African developmental states. She has attained numerous degrees from universities around South Africa, and continues to contribute to academic literature through journal articles, book chapters and research reports. Nagar’s proudest moment was when she graduated in 2019 as a doctor of literature and philosophy in political science, and later published her thesis as a book volume with Palgrave Macmillan. Her biggest mistake, she recalls, was prioritising the opinions of others. Nagar has since learned

MS LEBOGANG MULAISI

Head of Policy, Congress of South African Trade Unions

DR MARCEL NAGAR Research fellow, South African Research Chairs Initiative

DLitt et Phil Political Sciences, 2019

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