Meet the Team
Good Governance Africa is made up of a diverse team of academics, advisors and experts in their respective professions. Meet them all here.Founder
GGA Global
Ruth Kolevsohn
GGA Global
Ruth Kolevsohn is a governance executive and strategic programme director with over three decades’ experience in fostering collaboration, economic prosperity, social equity, and environmental stewardship across the public, private, and social sectors. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration specialising in Executive Leadership at the European Institute of Applied Science and Management (EIASM) in Prague. Ruth's expertise spans strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, outreach, and advocacy, with a strong focus on helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Before joining GGA, she led multi-award-winning teams across Africa, where she managed complex communication, social mobilisation and coalition building strategies, encouraging dialogue and active citizenry across the continent. At GGA, Ruth’s role involves promoting good governance practices through the organisation’s flagship programmes. Ruth joined GGA in July 2024 and was appointed Executive Director, Global Governance Programmes in August 2024.
Mashala Kwape
GGA Global
Mashala Kwape is Head of International Relations for Good Governance Africa. He is a senior executive with local and international experience, visionary leadership and management skills in strategic planning; building and maintaining partnerships; managing teams and stakeholders; and program design, development and management. Over the last 27 years, my focus has been on media for education development, use of technology in education and youth development in Sub Sahara Africa. I am passionate about transforming learning amongst children, youth and society in general.
Chairmen
Prof Bahru Zwede
GGA Chairmen
Bahru Zewde, currently Emeritus Professor of History at Addis Ababa University, is Founding Fellow and founding Principal Vice President of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences and Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences. He was formerly Chair of the Department of History and Director of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies at Addis Ababa University and Executive Director of the Forum for Social Studies, a think tank based in Addis Ababa. He has also served as Vice President of the Association of African Historians and Resident Vice President of the sub-regional research network, Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA), and as Editor of its journal, Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review. In addition to serving as Editor of the Journal of Ethiopian Studies for 15 years, he was member of the International Advisory Board of the Journal of African History and founding Editor of the Africa Review of Books. He is the recipient of numerous awards and Fellowships, including ones from the British Academy, Japan Foundation, the Institute of Advanced Study (Wissenschaftskolleg) in Berlin and Humboldt University. His major publications in English include: Bringing Africa Together: The Story of Ethiopian Airlines (1988); A History of Modern Ethiopia 1855-1991 (2001); Pioneers of Change in Ethiopia: The Reformist Intellectuals of the Early Twentieth Century (2002); Society, State and History: Selected Essays (2008); and The Quest for Socialist Utopia: The Ethiopian Student Movement c. 1960-1974 (2014). He has also served as a Consultant for a number of organizations, including Carnegie Corporation of New York, the African Union and African Child Policy Forum.
Nana Osei-Bonsu
GGA Chairmen
Nana has over 40 years of experience spanning the private and public sectors. He is currently the CEO of the Private Enterprise Federation (PEF) of Ghana. The PEF is the most powerful and autonomous apex institution of all private businesses and trade associations in Ghana. Nana is an economist and financial expert with an extensive banking career in the USA. He worked with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the New York State Banking Department, the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York and Alliance Capital where he obtained a Broker/Dealer License during that period. Nana also served as the Managing Partner of a private investment firm, Manoff Associates of New York. Nana later joined the investment banking division of JP Morgan Chase where he held senior management level positions. On his return to Ghana, Nana served as one of three Technical Advisors of the Economic Management Team of the Government of Ghana. At the same time, he doubled as a Technical Advisor to the Minister of State for Economic Planning. Nana was later appointed the first Chief Executive Officer of the Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF) where he leveraged Government’s endowment to partner private sector investors, including some European Equity firms to create five Venture Capital Funds with the private partners contributing huge capital amounts. During his tenure, Nana increased Accumulated Capital of the Trust Fund immensely and attained great success. Following this, he was appointed the CEO of the Private Enterprise Federation, a position he currently holds. Nana also serves as a board or steering committee member of numerous public and private institutions including the following: Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement system (GHIPSS), DANIDA SPSD, National Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA), Ghana Anti-corruption Coalition, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ghana Union life Assurance Company. Nana has had extensive interaction with the World Bank, the African development Bank, Donor Agencies and their respective consulates. He has also been actively involved other internationally sponsored programmes and activities across Africa.
Mark Adogah
GGA Chairmen
Mr Mark Adogah was appointed Chairman GGA-Nigeria in 2021. Mark is a Director at Citibank Nigeria’s Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory (BCMA) business. He is responsible for driving and supervising Citi Nigeria’s strategy for multinational Branded Consumer Goods, Aviation and Oil Services clients. He has been involved in several landmark lending and financing transactions in the industry. Mark has over 23 years’ experience in the areas of financial statements audit and assurance, business advisory and corporate and investment banking. He started his career with Arthur Andersen in Nigeria (now KPMG Professional Services) and worked in the Corporate Bank of Zenith Bank Plc and the Corporate Finance desk of FCMB Capital Markets Limited before joining Citibank. He has been in a senior management role since joining Citibank as an Assistant General Manager in October 2008. He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), a member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and The Chartered Institutes of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). Mark holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Accounting and a Master's degree focused in Finance and Investments from the University of Exeter, United Kingdom. Mark has extensive local and international training on leadership, negotiation, derivatives, risk management, advanced credit skills and other areas of accounting, finance and banking. He is happily married with children.
Deji Haastrup
Resource Curse Authors
Deji Haastrup has occupied several positions of increasing responsibility at global oil multinational Chevron, working with the team that developed Chevron’s human rights policy for its global operations. He also led the team that developed Chevron’s Global MoU, a community-led, multi-stakeholder sustainable development model credited for its effectiveness in conflict management and sustainable development in the Niger Delta communities. Deji served as Chevron’s General Manager for policy, government, and public affairs until November, 2016. He is now the Chief Consultant and CEO of Strategic Communications Solutions.
Executive Directors
Dr Ola Bello
GGA Executive Directors
Oladiran (Ola) Bello obtained both his MPhil and PhD degrees in International Relations from the University of Cambridge and also holds a First Class BSc degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He has worked for organisations including the United Nations (New York) and Management Systems International (Washington DC), Merchant International Group (London) and Arthur Andersen (later KPMG). Dr Ola Bello has more than 10 years of experience in research and policy advisory, including on governance and extractive sector reform; sustainable development; and international development cooperation (including in EU-Africa relations). He spent three years with FRIDE (Spain) managing a donor-funded programme on the EU’s role in managing fragility and resource governance in select African countries. In 2012-2015, he was Head, Governance of Africa’s Resource Programme (GARP) at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and also functioned as head of SAIIA’s Cape Town office. Ola is spearheading GGA's technical support to Nigerian reform, including delivering ethics training for senior Nigerian judicial officers and change-makers (2017-2019). He's also working to expand GGA's role as in-country resource centre for multilateral consultative missions to Nigeria's ministries and parastatals. These missions include the UNECA/AU mineral sector governance team.
Dr Zerihun Mohammed
GGA Executive Directors
Zerihun Mohammed holds a PhD from University of Cambridge in Human Geography. He accumulated extensive experience working for more than three decades at various academic, governmental and non-governmental organizations as expert, practitioner and researcher. As a practitioner, Zerihun worked for different local and international NGOs, including SOS-Sahel (UK) and ACORD (UK) in Ethiopia. He also thought at Hawassa University, Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources. Before joining GGA, Zerihun was working at Forum for Social Studies (FSS), a leading Think-tank in Ethiopia, as a Senior Researcher, where he published and edited a number of research works. Currently, Zerihun is serving as an Executive Director of Good Governance Africa-Eastern Africa Regional office at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Patrick Kulati
Author
Lonwabo Patrick Kulati is the Chief Executive Officer of Good Governance Africa’s (GGA) Southern Africa Regional Office (SARO). He has a strong history of leading international NGOs and driving organisational growth, effectiveness and profitability. He also has expertise in strategy development and execution, leadership coaching, fund development, stakeholder management, advocacy and partnership cultivation. Patrick is also a published author of "A Gap in the Cloud," providing valuable insights and inspiration on personal and leadership resilience. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Stellenbosch.
Tina Asante-Apeatu
GGA Executive Directors
Tina Asante-Apeatu is the executive director of GGA-West Africa Centre. She holds a BA in psychology and politics and eMBA in project management. She manages various projects, including research and advocacy in the areas of land governance, property rights and early childhood education. She is also currently the president of the Police Wives’ Association of Ghana. Tina is married with two children and loves travelling to new places.
GGA SARO Executive
Dr Ross Harvey
Author
Dr Ross Harvey is a natural resource economist and policy analyst, and he has been dealing with governance issues in various forms across this sector since 2007. He has a PhD in economics from the University of Cape Town, and his thesis research focused on the political economy of oil and institutional development in Angola and Nigeria. While completing his PhD, Ross worked as a senior researcher on extractive industries and wildlife governance at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), and in May 2019 became an independent conservation consultant. Ross’s task at GGA is to establish a non-renewable natural resources project (extractive industries) to ensure that the industry becomes genuinely sustainable and contributes to Africa achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Ross was appointed Director of Research and Programmes at GGA in May 2020.
Patrick Kulati
Author
Lonwabo Patrick Kulati is the Chief Executive Officer of Good Governance Africa’s (GGA) Southern Africa Regional Office (SARO). He has a strong history of leading international NGOs and driving organisational growth, effectiveness and profitability. He also has expertise in strategy development and execution, leadership coaching, fund development, stakeholder management, advocacy and partnership cultivation. Patrick is also a published author of "A Gap in the Cloud," providing valuable insights and inspiration on personal and leadership resilience. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Stellenbosch.
Governance Insights & Analytics Programme
Nnaemeka Ohamadike
Author
Nnaemeka is a Senior Data Analyst at Good Governance Africa. He holds a Master’s degree in e-Science (Data Science) from the University of the Witwatersrand, funded by South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation. Much of his research explores socio-political issues like human development, governance, bias, and disinformation, using data science. He has published research in scholarly journals like EPJ Data Science, Politeia, the Journal of Social Development in Africa, and The Africa Governance Papers. He has experience working as a Data Consultant at DataEQ Consulting. He has also taught at the Federal University, Lafia (Nigeria) and the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa).
Stuart Morrison
Author
Stuart Morrison is a Data Analyst with the Governance Insights and Analytics team at GGA. His research and expertise mainly focuses on the nexus between local governance, urbanisation and elections. He is currently completing his MA in E-science (Data Science) at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, with a background in Political Science, International Relations and Development studies. His multi-disciplinary approach incorporating data science and quantitative methods allows him to provide a nuanced and data-driven approach towards his research and policy work.
Chrissy Dube
Author
Chrissy Dube is the Chairperson of the GGA Management Committee and also a member of the GGA Executive Committee. She is Head of Governance Insights and Analytics at Good Governance Africa. She completed her Master of Commerce Degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2013. She also has qualifications in Advanced Project Management, Data Analysis, Ethics, and Compliance. With her experience in interrogating data, Chrissy specialises in analysing and interpreting data for informed decision-making in both the private and public sectors. Chrissy is a registered member of the Institute of Risk Management South Africa. Her interests include monitoring economic and social developments.
Security & Peace Programme
Sikhululekile Mashingaidze
Site Member
Sikhululekile Mashingaidze entered the governance field in Zimbabwe while she was a part-time enumerator for the Mass Public Opinion Institute’s diversity of research projects during her undergraduate years. She has worked with the Habakkuk Trust, Centre for Conflict Resolution (CCR-Kenya), Mercy Corps Zimbabwe and Action Aid International Zimbabwe, respectively.
Leleti Maluleke
Author
Leleti Maluleke is a Researcher for our Human Security and Climate Change programme. She completed her Bachelor of Political Science in Political Studies in 2017, and her Honours in International Relations in 2018 at the University of Pretoria. She started her career at International SOS in the Security Services department as a Political Risk and Security Intern. Socially, her countries of interests include Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.
Stephen Buchanan-Clarke
Site Member
Stephen Buchanan-Clarke is a security analyst with several years' experience working in both conflict and post-conflict settings in Africa, primarily on issues of peace and security; transitional justice and reconciliation; democratisation and governance; and preventing and countering violent extremism. He currently serves as head of the Human Security and Climate Change (HSCC) project at Good Governance Africa and is a co-editor of the Extremisms in Africa anthology series.
Natural Resource Governance & Climate Change Programme
Busisipho Siyobi
Editor
Busisipho Siyobi is the Programme Head of the Natural Resource Governance Programme at GGA. Prior to joining GGA, she headed up the Corporate Intelligence Monitor desk at S-RM Intelligence and Risk Consulting. Busisipho holds an MPhil in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Cape Town with a research focus on CSR within the South African mining industry. During her Masters, she worked as a research scholar at the South African Institute of International Affairs.
Vincent Obisie-Orlu
GGA NRG Programme
Vincent Obisie-Orlu is a Natural Resource Governance researcher at Good Governance Africa. He holds a BA in International Relations and Political Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand. His work focuses on natural resource governance of critical minerals, Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) issues, sustainable finance, and energy policy in light of the energy transition.
Mischka Moosa
GGA NRG Programme
Mischka Moosa is a data journalist at GGA. She holds a Bachelor of Social Science with majors in Gender Studies and Political Science that she obtained from the University of Cape Town. Her focus of interest is on decolonial approaches to justice, development and transformation in Africa.
Africa in Fact Journal
Susan Russell
Editor
Susan Russell is the editor of Good Governance Africa’s quarterly journal, Africa in Fact. She has worked in the media industry for more than 30 years as a journalist, editor, publisher, and as a general manager. Career highlights include several years working for Business Day and more than a decade as a reporter, editor and General Manager at the Sunday Times in Johannesburg.
Media and Marketing
Amanda Chetty
GGA Media and Marketing
Amanda is a media professional with over 15 years of experience specialising in subscription marketing and sales, and audience development. Her core expertise is in identifying new business opportunities, networking with stakeholders, and managing audience focused projects. Amanda has led successful subscription campaigns and driven digital subscription strategies on multiple titles.
Helen Grange
GGA Media and Marketing
Helen Grange is a seasoned journalist and editor, with a career spanning over 30 years writing and editing for newspapers and magazines in South Africa. Her work appears primarily on Independent Online (IOL), as well as The Citizen and Business Day newspapers, focussing on business trends, women’s empowerment, entrepreneurship and travel. Magazines she has written for include Noseweek, Acumen, Forbes Africa, Wits Business Journal and UJ Alumni magazine. Among NGOs she has written or edited for are Gender Links and INMED, a global humanitarian development organisation.
Brandon Janse van Rensburg
GGA Media and Marketing
Brandon Janse van Rensburg is a layout artist and graphic designer with two decades experience producing content in the marketing, advertising and print publication industries – both full-time and as a self-employed freelancer – producing B2B, in-house communications and bespoke marketing collateral for small businesses and blue chip corporate clients.
Tshepang Molefe
Administrator
Tshepang Molefe is the Chief Technology Officer for Good Governance Africa, a self–taught software developer with more than ten years of CMS development and a passion for working on web focused technologies. Throughout his education and career, he has thrived in projects that require critical problem solving skills. His work experience spans several domains, and in each of these he has demonstrated a good work ethic, and an ability to collaborate with others and work independently. Tshepang started his career in tech as an IT support and operations practitioner for small corporate firms, and eventually evolved into a software developer working with start-ups to create world class software. He is also an amateur drone pilot and involved in local community farming projects for sustainable organic farming and he is also focused on advancing his knowledge with the latest cloud technologies such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and he is already a Certified Microsoft Azure Associate.
Administration
Mabel Nhlabathi
Site Member
Mabel Nhlabathi is administrator and receptionist at GGA. She has extensive experience in the contact centre and training industry, having worked closely with the Services Seta on grants and learnership allocations. Mabel keeps everyone connected and is a true problem solver for all who come to GGA.
Gail Nel
GGA Office Admin
After completing a year at finishing school doing secretarial and accounting diplomas, and then working for her father’s medical aid organisation, Gail Nel spent two years in Los Angeles, California, performing typesetting and graphic design on two weekly Catholic Newspapers. Upon her return to SA, Gail worked for Douglas & Barry printing company where she ran the design studio, whilst completing her Marketing Diploma at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Business School. She then started her own small design studio, Le Projet, which she ran for eight years before being bought out by Young & Rubicam SA. She was MD of Wunderman Cato Johnson for five years before she gave birth to twin daughters, Ashleigh and Brittany. Gail then started a second design company, Two Fold Marketing, which she ran for 12 years, before joining Times Media, where she was marketing manager, working across The Sunday Times, Business Day, Financial Mail, Sowetan and Sunday World newspapers and online platforms for 10 years. Gail joined GGA in 2018 after five years as an independent marketing consultant, and was appointed Director of Operations in 2020.
Shoni Mabutha
Site Member
Shoni is an office assistant and cleaner at GGA and has been at GGA for over four years. Her confidence, personality, and ability to work with people makes her a very valuable member of staff. Her good communication skills and punctuality go a long way to keeping the office organised.
GGA Horn of Africa
Prof Bahru Zwede
GGA Chairmen
Bahru Zewde, currently Emeritus Professor of History at Addis Ababa University, is Founding Fellow and founding Principal Vice President of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences and Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences. He was formerly Chair of the Department of History and Director of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies at Addis Ababa University and Executive Director of the Forum for Social Studies, a think tank based in Addis Ababa. He has also served as Vice President of the Association of African Historians and Resident Vice President of the sub-regional research network, Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA), and as Editor of its journal, Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review. In addition to serving as Editor of the Journal of Ethiopian Studies for 15 years, he was member of the International Advisory Board of the Journal of African History and founding Editor of the Africa Review of Books. He is the recipient of numerous awards and Fellowships, including ones from the British Academy, Japan Foundation, the Institute of Advanced Study (Wissenschaftskolleg) in Berlin and Humboldt University. His major publications in English include: Bringing Africa Together: The Story of Ethiopian Airlines (1988); A History of Modern Ethiopia 1855-1991 (2001); Pioneers of Change in Ethiopia: The Reformist Intellectuals of the Early Twentieth Century (2002); Society, State and History: Selected Essays (2008); and The Quest for Socialist Utopia: The Ethiopian Student Movement c. 1960-1974 (2014). He has also served as a Consultant for a number of organizations, including Carnegie Corporation of New York, the African Union and African Child Policy Forum.
Dr Zerihun Mohammed
GGA Executive Directors
Zerihun Mohammed holds a PhD from University of Cambridge in Human Geography. He accumulated extensive experience working for more than three decades at various academic, governmental and non-governmental organizations as expert, practitioner and researcher. As a practitioner, Zerihun worked for different local and international NGOs, including SOS-Sahel (UK) and ACORD (UK) in Ethiopia. He also thought at Hawassa University, Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources. Before joining GGA, Zerihun was working at Forum for Social Studies (FSS), a leading Think-tank in Ethiopia, as a Senior Researcher, where he published and edited a number of research works. Currently, Zerihun is serving as an Executive Director of Good Governance Africa-Eastern Africa Regional office at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Bethlhem Zewdu
Author
Bethlhem Zewdu is an Ethiopian young professional. She has been working in different positions as office manager, quality control and executive assistant manager. She obtained her Bachelors and MSc degrees from Addis Ababa University in Management and Quality Management and Organisational Excellence respectively.
Dr. Dereje Tesema
Author
Dereje Tesema holds a PhD in Social Work and Social Welfare Studies from Ghent University, Belgium, focusing on internal migration and displacement. With over 10 years of working with governmental and non-governmental organisations, he accumulated extensive expertise in research, project management and practices, in areas of migration, climate change and meaningful civic engagement. Working with research institutions such as the United Nations University-CRIS and Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), Dereje contributed to research projects and published research outputs. Before joining GGA-HoA, he was a lecturer and researcher at Jimma University, Addis Ababa, where he taught development sociology and spearheaded several community service initiatives. Currently, Dereje serves as an Associate Programme Officer at Good Governance Africa-Horn of Africa Regional Office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
GGA Nigeria
Dr Ola Bello
GGA Executive Directors
Oladiran (Ola) Bello obtained both his MPhil and PhD degrees in International Relations from the University of Cambridge and also holds a First Class BSc degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He has worked for organisations including the United Nations (New York) and Management Systems International (Washington DC), Merchant International Group (London) and Arthur Andersen (later KPMG). Dr Ola Bello has more than 10 years of experience in research and policy advisory, including on governance and extractive sector reform; sustainable development; and international development cooperation (including in EU-Africa relations). He spent three years with FRIDE (Spain) managing a donor-funded programme on the EU’s role in managing fragility and resource governance in select African countries. In 2012-2015, he was Head, Governance of Africa’s Resource Programme (GARP) at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and also functioned as head of SAIIA’s Cape Town office. Ola is spearheading GGA's technical support to Nigerian reform, including delivering ethics training for senior Nigerian judicial officers and change-makers (2017-2019). He's also working to expand GGA's role as in-country resource centre for multilateral consultative missions to Nigeria's ministries and parastatals. These missions include the UNECA/AU mineral sector governance team.
Fisayo Alo
Author
Fisayo Alo is a Senior Researcher at Good Governance Africa Nigeria where he coordinates and supports research efforts. Fisayo has fifteen years of experience working in the development consulting, research, quality control, and community engagement. His interests include citizen participation in governance, policy analysis, economic development, and sustainable community development. Fisayo holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration (University of Lagos), a Post Graduate Diploma (PDG) in Agricultural Extension and Rural Development (Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta), a Certificate in Ethical Circular Economy (Arizona State University), and a B Sc. degree in Microbiology from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). He has managed a number of development projects and agricultural value chain studies for International donor agencies, such as USAID, FCDO, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and GTZ.
Eniayo Ibirogba
Author
Eniayo Ibirogba is a law graduate from the University of Buckingham, United Kingdom. Before studying law he got a degree in international law and diplomacy from Babcock university, Ogun state, Nigeria. His core interests are policy advisory, community development and human rights.
Julia Bello-Schunemann
Author
Dr Julia Bello-Schünemann is a multilingual research consultant. She is versed in integrated forecasting across sectors (including demographics, infrastructure, economics, conflict and violence, etc.), trend and risk analysis, data analysis, policy advice for governments and international organisations. Her expertise straddles Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the European Union. She possesses vast experience in project management, fundraising, strategic planning, multi-stakeholder consultations, training and facilitation. She is currently an Associate Senior Research Consultant with Good Governance Africa-Nigeria. She holds a PhD in International Relations from the Complutense University Madrid, Spain and an MA in Communication, Political Science and Economics from Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich in Germany.
Mark Adogah
GGA Chairmen
Mr Mark Adogah was appointed Chairman GGA-Nigeria in 2021. Mark is a Director at Citibank Nigeria’s Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory (BCMA) business. He is responsible for driving and supervising Citi Nigeria’s strategy for multinational Branded Consumer Goods, Aviation and Oil Services clients. He has been involved in several landmark lending and financing transactions in the industry. Mark has over 23 years’ experience in the areas of financial statements audit and assurance, business advisory and corporate and investment banking. He started his career with Arthur Andersen in Nigeria (now KPMG Professional Services) and worked in the Corporate Bank of Zenith Bank Plc and the Corporate Finance desk of FCMB Capital Markets Limited before joining Citibank. He has been in a senior management role since joining Citibank as an Assistant General Manager in October 2008. He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), a member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and The Chartered Institutes of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). Mark holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Accounting and a Master's degree focused in Finance and Investments from the University of Exeter, United Kingdom. Mark has extensive local and international training on leadership, negotiation, derivatives, risk management, advanced credit skills and other areas of accounting, finance and banking. He is happily married with children.
Kabir Hassan
Author
Kabir Hassan is a researcher at Good Governance Africa-Nigeria. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Transport Planning and Policy from Lagos State University, Nigeria. His research focuses on sustainable transport development and planning, with a strong interest in policies that promote equitable and efficient mobility systems. Kabir is actively involved in community development work, especially youth capacity-building initiatives and youth civic engagements. He has been part of notable transport-related projects through his roles at the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) and TSL Metroline Limited, where he was involved in road transport network operations and survey analysis.
Lawal Asiata
Author
Lawal Asiata is currently the office manager and project coordinator for GGA Nigeria. She has worked as a librarian and personal assistant in both private and government parastatals. Asiata holds a bachelor's degree in Library, Archival and Information Studies from University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Her hobbies include reading and travelling.
Malik Samuel
Author
Malik Samuel is a senior researcher at Good Governance Africa-Nigeria. Before joining GGA, he was a researcher with the Institute for Security Studies, specialising in the Boko Haram conflict in the Lake Chad Basin Region. Malik also worked as a conflict researcher with Amnesty International Nigeria. He was also a Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders field communications manager in Northeast Nigeria. Before that, he was an investigative journalist at the Abuja-based International Centre for Investigative Reporting. Malik holds a Master's degree in Conflict, Peace, and Security from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).
Adejumo Kabir Adeniyi
Author
Adejumo Kabir Adeniyi is a senior researcher at Good Governance Africa-Nigeria. He is an expert with many years of experience in community development work and governance accountability sector. Before joining GGA, Adejumo worked at Premium Times and HumAngle Media, two of Nigeria’s biggest newspapers specialising on conflict and accountability reporting. His work has featured on esteemed local and international platforms, including Zam magazine, El Pais, IJNet, Premium Times, HumAngle Media and TheCable among others. He is a 2019 recipient of the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence, a 2020 recipient of the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award in the United Kingdom, and a 2021 recipient of NAREP Oil and Gas Fellowship.
Mariam Hassan
Author
Mariam Hassan is a researcher at Good Governance Africa-Nigeria. She is a graduate of Public Health from Babcock University, Nigeria. Mariam has contributed to health interventions through her engagements at Action Health Incorporated, where she supported adolescent health programmes, and at the Youth Clinic of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, where she gained hands-on experience in youth-centred healthcare services. She is passionate about creating positive change in communities through research and advocacy, and also supports capacity-building initiatives that specifically target women and young people.
GGA West Africa
Tina Asante-Apeatu
GGA Executive Directors
Tina Asante-Apeatu is the executive director of GGA-West Africa Centre. She holds a BA in psychology and politics and eMBA in project management. She manages various projects, including research and advocacy in the areas of land governance, property rights and early childhood education. She is also currently the president of the Police Wives’ Association of Ghana. Tina is married with two children and loves travelling to new places.
Nana Osei-Bonsu
GGA Chairmen
Nana has over 40 years of experience spanning the private and public sectors. He is currently the CEO of the Private Enterprise Federation (PEF) of Ghana. The PEF is the most powerful and autonomous apex institution of all private businesses and trade associations in Ghana. Nana is an economist and financial expert with an extensive banking career in the USA. He worked with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the New York State Banking Department, the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York and Alliance Capital where he obtained a Broker/Dealer License during that period. Nana also served as the Managing Partner of a private investment firm, Manoff Associates of New York. Nana later joined the investment banking division of JP Morgan Chase where he held senior management level positions. On his return to Ghana, Nana served as one of three Technical Advisors of the Economic Management Team of the Government of Ghana. At the same time, he doubled as a Technical Advisor to the Minister of State for Economic Planning. Nana was later appointed the first Chief Executive Officer of the Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF) where he leveraged Government’s endowment to partner private sector investors, including some European Equity firms to create five Venture Capital Funds with the private partners contributing huge capital amounts. During his tenure, Nana increased Accumulated Capital of the Trust Fund immensely and attained great success. Following this, he was appointed the CEO of the Private Enterprise Federation, a position he currently holds. Nana also serves as a board or steering committee member of numerous public and private institutions including the following: Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement system (GHIPSS), DANIDA SPSD, National Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA), Ghana Anti-corruption Coalition, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ghana Union life Assurance Company. Nana has had extensive interaction with the World Bank, the African development Bank, Donor Agencies and their respective consulates. He has also been actively involved other internationally sponsored programmes and activities across Africa.
Gifty Obeng
Author
Gifty Obeng is a monitoring and evaluation specialist with over 19 years’ experience in various fields of work. With an international training background (Masters level) in sustainable environmental practices, Gifty specialises in designing programmes and projects that protect the environment and thus limit the negative environmental footprint of human activities. She has been at the forefront of advising agencies like the B-Bovid (agro-processing social enterprise) on sustainable agricultural practices and climate change adaptative measures for farming communities. Gifty’s commitment to the use of best planning practices in all initiatives she has supported stems from her training as a development planning professional at undergraduate level (see CV). A trained school teacher with more than 10 years’ experience, Gifty is also skilled in training and mobilising stakeholders with various needs, and in designing content to suit various categories of clients. Gifty currently occupies the position of Programmes, Monitoring and Evaluations Manager at the Good Governance Africa Centre, where she uses her strong professional training background in business administration (Big Data), Quick Books and ComCare to steer programmes and activities.
Edward Sarpong
Author
Edward is a development planning professional with over 10 years working experience in development cooperation, research and training. For six years, Edward worked as a technical development advisor working at all levels of the decentralised system in Ghana. At the local level, he has been directly involved in community mobilisations and engagements to document the needs of the people mostly in deprived districts. These engagements were further used to enrich national policy discourse and in the formulation of policies and programmes. Edward also coordinated interventions with the then 10 Regional Coordinating Councils (RCC) to support selected districts in the implementation of their development programmes. Over the last five years Edward has been engaged in trainings and research, working both in the private and non-governmental sectors. With a strong planning background both at the masters’ and undergraduate levels, Edward is a passionate advocate of inclusive planning and decision making, particularly on matters that could reduce poverty amongst marginalised segments of society. Edward also holds a practitioner certificate in organisational and systems development; a background that positively influences his engagement with stakeholders at all levels of society. Currently, Edward occupies the position of Senior Research Officer at the Good Governance Africa – West Africa Centre (see CV).
GGA SARO Associates
Bob Wekesa
Site Member
Dr Bob Wekesa is acting director and research and communications coordinator at the African Centre for the Study of the United States based at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Nairobi and Master’s and doctoral degrees from the Communication University of China, Beijing. His area of teaching, research and public engagement is the intersection of journalism, media, and communications on the one hand and geopolitics, diplomacy and foreign policy on the other. He supervises post-graduate projects in these fields. His current research work includes international communication; diplomacy with a focus digital and public diplomacy; African diaspora; the internationalisation of African cities; the geopolitics of Africa and established and emerging powers. Prof Wekesa is well published in academic and popular platforms.
Prof Anthoni van Nieuwkerk
GGA Associates
Prof Anthoni van Nieuwkerk holds an MA in political science from the University of Johannesburg and a PhD in international relations from University of the Witwatersrand. He has been research-active from the early 1990s and has pursued an academic career in teaching, supervision, and policy analysis since 2000. Anthoni is based at the University of the Witwatersrand’s School of Governance, where he participates in peace and security studies. In 2015, the South African government appointed him to the South African Council on International Relations and in 2018, to the Presidential High-level Review Panel into Intelligence. Anthoni is a skilled institutional architect and experienced academic manager and facilitator. He publishes widely on African foreign and security policy, has participated in several scenarios development exercises, and has broad experience with advising African policymakers including the Secretariats of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). He is a Senior Research Associate at Good Governance Africa (GGA) and serves as an editorial board member of the accredited journals African Security, Administratio Publica, South African Journal of International Affairs, European Journal of International Studies, and coordinates the biannual Southern African Security Review.
Ian Palmer
GGA Associates
Ian Palmer has 45 years' experience in the fields of infrastructure and urban development. He founded PDG, a leading development consultancy in South Africa, in 1990, remaining part of PDG over the subsequent 34 years, 19 of which he was the managing director. He remains with PDG part-time as an associate. For the past 10 years he has undertaken academic work as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Cape Town attached to the African Centre for Cities where he remains a research associate. Over the period 1996 to 2012 Ian was a Trustee and Deputy Chairperson of Mvula Trust, a leading NGO in the field of water supply and sanitation. He has been the team leader on over 100 research and consulting projects in South Africa and also has experience working in Zambia, Mozambique, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Kenya for various development agencies.
Prof Adriano Nuvungo
GGA Associates
Prof. Adriano Alfredo Nuvunga, Ph.D. is the Director of the Centro para Democracia e Desenvolvimento (CDD), a Democracy, Governance and Human Rights Organization in Mozambique. Prof. Nuvunga teaches political science and governance at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of the Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique. He is the Chair of the Forum de Monitoria do Orçamento (FMO), a platform of coalitions and organizations focusing on Budget transparency and Public Finance Management. Prof. Nuvunga Chairs the Mozambique Network of Human Rights Defenders. He is Board member of the Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (SAHRDN). Prof. Nuvunga is also Board member of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), based in Accra, Ghana. Prof. Nuvunga is also a member of INCLUDE, the Knowledge Platform on Inclusive Development Policies of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prof. Nuvunga is the co-founder and former director of Centro de Integridade Publica, Mozambique’s Transparency International Chapter. His next book examines the Political Economy of Mozambique’s Gas Development and Nation building.
Dr William Jethro Mpofu
GGA Associates
Dr William Mpofu is a researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Centre for Diversity Studies (WICDS), under the faculty of humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is the Associate Editor of the International Journal of Critical Diversity Studies (IJCDS) that is published by Pluto Journals. Dr Mpofu is a founding member of the Africa Decolonial Research Network (ADERN).
Prof Mtende Mhango
Author
Mtende Mhango is a full professor and current Dean of the Faculty of Law at the National University of Lesotho, where he also serves as the inaugural Metropolitan Professorial Research Chair in Pension Law Studies. Mhango is also a Research Associate at the University of Limpopo, School of Law, and a rated researcher by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. Mhango holds a Bachelor of Arts from Morehead States University, Juris Doctorate from Michigan State University, Master of Laws from Wayne State University, and Doctor of Laws from the University of South Africa, which focused on the political question theory in South Africa’s jurisprudence. For the last decade, he has been engaged in research in public law. Notable among his publications in this regard are his series on “separation of powers, justiciability and constitutional adjudication”, published in leading South African and international law journals. One of his recent books is Justiciability of Political Questions in South Africa: A Comparative Analysis (Eleven International Publishing 2019), which examines the role of politics in constitutional adjudication and its effects on the political governance of a country. Mhango’s other research interests are pension fund regulation, where he focuses on emerging pension jurisprudence and recent pension reforms in the South African Development Community (SADC). Through his research, he has contributed to pension reforms in Lesotho, Malawi, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and Botswana. His recent book in this area is Pension Law and Death Benefits: Law and Policy Harmonisation in the Southern African Development Community, published by Juta in March 2022. Mhango’s experience as a pension lawyer has enabled him to serve as an Independent Board Member of some of the largest pension funds in the SADC region, including the Municipal Employees Pension Fund (with assets over $1.3 billion) and the Debswana Pension Fund (with assets over $700 million).
Dr Ibbo Mandaza
Site Member
Ibbo Mandaza is a Zimbabwean academic, author and publisher. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy (D.Phil) in Political Economy from the University of York in England (1979) and taught at the Universities of Botswana, Zambia, Dar re Salaam and Zimbabwe (part-time). He has researched and written extensively on issues of governance, international relations and public policy; and was one of the first senior African Civil Servants in post-independent Zimbabwe (1980-1990), having been a member of the (Zimbabwe) National Liberation Movement, in the Department of Research, Education and Manpower, ZANU Headquarters, Maputo, Mozambique. He served as Director of the National Manpower Survey and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Manpower Planning and Development; as Deputy Chairman of the Public Service Commission and Member of the Defence Forces Commission; and finally as Chairman of the Parastatals Commission, before his early retirement from the Civil Service in July 1990 at the age of 42. Ibbo Mandaza was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the second largest tourism and hotel group (Rainbow Tourism Group) in Zimbabwe from 1992 to 2009 Ibbo Mandaza is currently Executive Chairman of the Southern African Political Economy Series (SAPES) Trust, a regional Think Tank and Convenor of the Policy Dialogue Forum.
Dr Darion Barclay
Author
Dr Darion Barclay is a corporate governance and management executive with over 25 years of experience in the private, public, and higher education sectors, including public entities. He has served in multiple leadership positions in the public service in Gauteng and South Africa, providing regular strategic and operational advice to the Premier, Members of the Executive Council, and the Director General. His current role is as head of department at the Gauteng Department of Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs. Dr Barclay holds a PhD in Public Governance from the University of Johannesburg, with his thesis titled “A corporate governance framework for sector education and training authorities”. In addition to his appointment as a GGA SARO Research Associate, Darion is a member of the Institute of Directors and a member of the Institute of Management.
Prof Rod Alence
GGA Associates
Prof Rod Alence is Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg. He is a specialist in the political economy of governance and development in Africa. His work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Democracy, the Journal of Modern African Studies, and the Journal of African History. Much of his research focuses on elections and governance in Africa, including a multi-year project on determinants of election-related violence. He developed and coordinates the MA program in e-Science at Wits, which provides training in statistical computing and applied data science methods for researchers in the social sciences and humanities. He earned his PhD in political science from Stanford University in 2001, and his dissertation won the American Political Science Association’s annual prize for best in the field of political economy.
