Meet Some Of The Thought Leaders Speaking At 2023 ATLF

1 H.E. Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General Of The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

Mr Zurab Pololikashvili has been Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) since 1 January 2018 after being elected by the 22nd Session of the UNWTO General Assembly. He was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Kingdom of Spain, the Principality of Andorra, the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria and the Kingdom of Morocco and Permanent Representative of Georgia to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) up to December 2017.

Between 2009 and 2010, he was Minister of Economic Development of Georgia. As a Minister of Economic Development of Georgia, Mr Pololikashvili was responsible for overseeing the country’s long-term fiscal growth strategies, advancing foreign trade and investment policy initiatives as well as for promoting the development of the tourism, infrastructure and transportation sectors. He was instrumental in launching an innovative policy for the development of tourism in Georgia, prioritizing the sphere on both the government and private sector agendas. During Mr. Pololikashvili’s tenure as Minister of Economic Development, through key policy reforms, marketing activities, improvement of infrastructure and visa liberalization initiatives, Georgia nearly doubled the number of international tourist arrivals, from 1.5 million (2009) to exceeding the 2.8 million mark by 2011. Those reforms paved the way for sustainable tourism practices in Georgia and poverty alleviation initiatives, placing Georgia among the top tourism destinations in the region. Minister Pololikashvili successfully led the economic liberalization processes, introducing supportive policies for SMEs, and incentive programmes to attract foreign investment for the development of hard and soft infrastructure.

2006 – 2009 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Kingdom of Spain.

2005 – 2006 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. In this capacity as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, he supervised the departments for administrative, budgetary, financial and consular affairs, as well as the Department for Human Resources Management. Mr. Pololikashvili was responsible for ushering in a new phase of more liberal and secure visa regimes, facilitating processes to ease border crossing procedures, and deepening relations with various international organizations, including UNWTO.

2 H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary General, AfCFTA Secretariat, Ghana

H.E. Wamkele Mene was elected by the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of States & Government of the African Union, to the position of Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.

Prior to being elected Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, he served as Chief Director: Africa Economic Relations, at the Department of Trade & Industry of South Africa. In this role, he was South Africa’s chief trade negotiator in the AfCFTA and Tripartite FTA negotiations. During his tenure as chief negotiator, South Africa ratified both the AfCFTA and Tripartite FTAs agreements.

Prior to assuming this position, H.E. Wamkele Mene occupied the position of Director of International Trade Law & Investment Law at the Department of Trade & Industry, a role in which he was principal legal counsel on international trade law and international investment law.

From 2010 until 2015, H.E. Wamkele Mene represented South Africa at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland. He was elected to the position of Chairman of the WTO’s Committee on International Trade in Financial Services.

Prior to joining the Department of Trade & Industry of South Africa, H.E. Wamkele Mene worked for Wall Street-based law firms in the London and Hong Kong offices.

H.E. Wamkele Mene has written and lectured internationally on international trade law, international investment law and international business law. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Law) degree from Rhodes University in South Africa, a Master of Arts in International Studies and Diplomacy (with specialization in International Economics) from the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London and a LL.M. (Master of Laws) in Banking Law & Financial Regulation from the Law Department of the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE).

3 H.E. Elias M. Magosi, SADC Executive Secretary

H.E. Elias M. Magosi is a national of the Republic of Botswana who was sworn in on 18th August 2021 as the Seventh SADC Executive Secretary at the 41st SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Lilongwe, Republic of Malawi. He assumed his position on 1st September, 2021.

H.E. Magosi started his career in public service as a Management Analyst in the Directorate of Public Service Management of Botswana in 1989 and rose through the ranks to become Permanent Secretary in different ministries before his appointment as the Principal Secretary to the President in February 2020, effectively becoming the head of Public Service in Botswana. In this role, he coordinated and facilitated delivery linkages for ministries and parastatals to achieve national and international obligations; and provided advisory support to the President, Vice President, Cabinet, Permanent Secretaries, Private Sector and regional bodies.

In the private sector, H.E. Magosi has served in senior human resources portfolios, having served as Cluster Head of Human Resources-Consumer Banking, Southern Africa at Standard Chartered Bank from 2013 to 2014. There, he managed and overall human resource strategy and provided appropriate human resource solutions for the Consumer Banking businesses in the cluster comprising Botswana, Zambia and
Zimbabwe. H.E. Magosi was Head of Human Resources for Botswana Life Insurance Limited from 2007 to 2010 before assuming a group role in Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited, of which Botswana Life Insurance is a subsidiary, where he served as Group Head of Human Resources from 2010 to 2012.

H.E. Magosi has an in-depth understanding of the role of SADC in promoting and deepening regional integration, cooperation and development having served as Director of Human Resources and Administration at the SADC Secretariat where in addition to the development and execution of the Secretariat’s human resource strategy, he was instrumental in engaging and coordinating with SADC Member States and other stakeholders as a member of the Secretariat Management.

With extensive experience and a proven track record of service in the public and private sectors spanning over a period of more than 30 years, H.E. Magosi understands that achieving SADC goals and objectives requires collective and collaborative efforts of all Member States, partners and stakeholders, and has an unwavering commitment to working closely with relevant structures in the SADC Member States, the Private Sector, International Cooperating Partners as well as regional and international bodies in the promotion and furtherance of SADC objectives. As head of the SADC Secretariat, a principal executive institution of SADC, H.E. Magosi will, among other strategic functions, oversee and coordinate the implementation of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030 and SADC Vision 2050 which envision a peaceful, inclusive, competitive, middle-to-high-income industrialised region, where all citizens enjoy sustainable economic well-being, justice and freedom., competitive, middle- to high-income.

H.E. Magosi holds a Master’s Degree in Organisation Development from Bowling Green State University, USA, a Graduate Diploma in Management Services from the University of Bolton, United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Arts Economics/Statistics from the University of Botswana.

4 Hon. Philda Nani Kereng, Minister of Environment & Tourism, Botswana

Hon. Philda Nani Kereng is the Minister of Environment & Tourism. She has brought a new impetus to the tourism industry of Botswana by revising the tourism policy so as to enhance the participation of the country’s citizens in the tourism industry and to diversify the tourism products away from the traditional wildlife and wilderness to other products such as heritage & cultural tourism and increasing product diversification across the country. She has been instrumental in the development and adoption of Botswana’s first Climate Change Policy and Strategy.

She has devised strategies to accelerate the recovery of Botswana’s tourism industry from the negative impact of COVID-19 through networking with different partners so as to achieve sustained growth while improving sustainable conservation practices and positioning Botswana as a tourism and investment regional hub.

Hon. Kereng’s efforts have earned due recognition and has been acknowledged as one of Africa’s Tourism Board Key Leaders in Africa.

She has also been active on the social front since 1995. She held until 2001 the post of Chief of Surveys and Follow-ups of the Rural Industries Innovation Center, planning and managing nationwide sociological research projects to improve industrial and farming activities.

Furthermore, she has also been a Project Officer for Community Development of the Action for Economic Empowerment Trust, a local partner of the US African Development Foundation (ADF), working closely with rural communities to identify, plan and manage community ecotourism projects.

Her grassroots knowledge of Botswana’s society led the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to appoint her as a Child Protection Officer to drive the national programme on orphan care and child services in collaboration with NGOs and CBOs. She was also instrumental in the development of the Children’s Act of 2009.

Hon. Kereng received an award for being one of Africa’s Tourism Board (ATB)’s Key Leaders in Africa at the first East African Regional Tourism Expo on 9 October 2021. The award recognizes her excellence in driving the development of sound tourism recovery strategies. Such strategies include the review of tourism regulations, the Tourism Policy, the development of climate change and response and integrated waste management policy, to mention a few.

Furthermore, she was recently recognized through the Pyne Awards Africa 2022 for outstanding contribution to community tourism development in Botswana and Africa by advancing priorities that are people-centric in light of the health and economic setbacks caused by the coronavirus pandemic. As such communities have become core actors in the value chains created under the Community-Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) programme

Hon. Philda Nani Kereng holds a B.A. in Public Administration and Sociology as well as a master’s in Sociology of Development (UK).

In parallel to her State responsibilities, she is an associate pastor in a local church and often acts as a counsellor and life coach for families, women and young people.

5 Patricia de Lille, Minister of Tourism, MP, South Africa

Patricia de Lille was appointed as the Minister of Tourism by President Cyril Ramaphosa in March 2023.

De Lille is a seasoned politician and public servant having served in all three spheres of government since South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994.

De Lille has been fighting injustice for more than 45 years and was part of the team which led the constitutional negotiations and the team which drafted South Africa’s Constitution.

She is the only South African female politician to start her own political party and win seats in all three spheres of government. De Lille achieved this feat twice, in 2003 with the Independent Democrats and in 2019 with the GOOD Movement.

De Lille served as the Mayor of Cape Town between 2011 and 2018 where accountability and clean governance were the cornerstones of her term. De Lille served as the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) from June 2019 to March 2023 where she drove the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment Plan, repurposing government’s assets for greater socio-economic value, clamping down on corruption and ensuring that public land and public buildings were used for public good.

In her role as the Minister of Tourism, De Lille will focus efforts on destination marketing, increasing air access and visitor numbers to South Africa and efforts to increase the number of jobs created by the sector.

6 Hon. Heather Mwiza Sibungo, Deputy Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism

Kongola Pioneer Band (1989); Member: Interim Swapo Party Youth League Committee (1993); Branch Executive Member of NANSO, St Kizito College (1992); Student Representative Council Chairperson, St Kizito College (1993-1995); Regional Executive Member of Representative SPYL (1994); Regional Chairperson, Caprivi Regional Youth Forum (1994); Board Member of National Youth Council (2001-2010); Regional Pioneer Representative, SPYL (2001-2007); District Secretary: Katima Urban SPYL (2007 to date); Regional Protocol Chairperson Swapo Party (2012 to date); Member of Local Authority Tender Board of Katima Mulilo Town Council (2011- 2014); Administrative Officer: Ministry of Education, Zambezi Region (1996-2013); Acting Accountant:

7 Ministry of Education, Zambezi Region (2013-2015)

Mr. Ntwaagae graduated from the University of Botswana in 2000 with a B.A. Degree in Social Sciences (Statistics and Economics). He has 22 years of work experience, of which eleven (11) years were in airline commercial planning.

He has prior experience in Monitoring and Evaluation, Statistical Data Management, and Research and modelling.

Mr. Ntwaagae is the current Director, Commercial for Air Botswana responsible for core commercial planning activities, which include Market Data Management and market Research, Route Network Planning & flight Scheduling, Pricing & Yield/Revenue Management, Commercial partnerships, and commercial systems and automation as well as sales and marketing.

Prior to Air Botswana, Mr Ntwaagae had a 2-year stint at Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS) as the Statistician. He was instrumental in the conclusion of the first Tax Gab Study in Botswana sponsored by the Swedish Tax Agency.

His extensive skill in data modelling work was highlighted at the Energy Affairs Department from 2008 to 2010 when he concluded a study funded by the International Atomic Energy Agency to forecast future energy demands for Botswana through the MAED model. The department depends on such studies to develop energy supply expansion plans.