Legal and Operational Status
The Community Conservation Fund of Namibia was registered on the 14th of July 2017 as a Non-Profit Association Incorporated under Section 21 of the Namibian Companies Act). It is governed by the Companies Act, and Articles of Association. It is further guided by by-laws, a strategy plan, internal manuals, and policies.
Membership and Governance
Members
Hon. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah – Patron
Hon. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is a seasoned diplomat who has been the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Namibia since March 2015 to date. She is also the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation. Among other positions, she served as the first Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs after independence, Director-General of the Department of Women Affairs in the Office of the President, Minister of Women Affairs and Child Welfare, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, and in 2008, Minister of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism. She holds a graduate degree in diplomatic studies and a post-graduate diploma in international relations. Hon. Ndaitwah serves as Patron of the organization in her individual capacity.
Mr. Gideon Shilongo – Business and Tourism Sector
Founding Member
Gideon Shilongo is the Director for Group Corporate Relations for the Olthaver and List Group, one of the biggest conglomerates in Namibia. Previously he was the Manager for Corporate Affairs at Namibia Breweries. Gideon was the first Chief Executive Officer for the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) for five years during which time he helped set up NTB to stimulate tourism growth in the country as well as set up the regulatory framework for the tourism industry. He has experience working on Community Based Natural Resource Management Programmes during the formative years of CBNRM. Gideon serves on a variety of boards including Offshore Development Company, Namibia Competition Commission, Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Namibia Trade Forum as well as Wilderness Safaris.
Ms. Margareth Chlothilda Vries – Tourism Sector
Founding Member
Margareth “Maggie” Vries is currently the Manager of Ongava Lodge. She was previously the manager of Darmaraland Camp, an award-winning upmarket camp run by Wilderness Safari Namibia. She brings extensive tourism experience and is a community member from one of the original community conservancies in Namibia. She was part of the Namibian delegation (headed by the Hon. Nandi-Ndaitwah) to Mexico when Namibia successfully bid to host the Adventure Tourism Summit.
Directors
Mr. Steve Galloway – Retired from the Financial Sector
Founding Member and Board Director
Steve Galloway has 40 years working experience in exploration, mining, corporate and project finance, banking and investments. He has served on the boards of several financial and mining companies. He was the Chief Mineral Economist in the Ministry of Mines and Energy and was promoted to Undersecretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry. He also served as Executive Director of the Namibia Investment Centre for four years. He was the Managing Director of Ned-Capital Namibia for 10 years before moving to RMB Namibia as Managing Director from 2011 to 2016. Steve continues to serve on various boards and committees, including Chairman of Gondwana Collection, director of MTC, director of Namibian Institute of Corporate Governance, Executive Committee member of Namibian Chamber of Environment. He serves on the Public Private Partnership Committee and other national policy committees. He has BSc Hons in Geology and BCom Hon in Economics and comes with a wealth of Corporate Governance expertise.
Dr. Chris Brown
Chris Brown has over thirty-five years of practical experience in environmental management and administration, community-based conservation, and biodiversity and protected areas. He is a former Executive Director of the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF), and prior to that was the founding Head of the Directorate of Environmental Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Environment and Tourism, where he established a national portfolio of environmental programmes, including those on community-based natural resource management, biodiversity, combating desertification, environmental profiles, and park management planning. He has a PhD in Conservation Biology and has published more than 100 scientific papers and reports, including Namibia’s Green Plan. For 10 years he was the editor of Namibia’s scientific journal, Madoqua, and has recently helped establish the electronic Namibian Journal of Environment. He was a Director of the Namibian tourism company Gondwana Collection for 18 years where he headed the board committee on Parks and Environment, and is a Director of Bushskies, a company that provides aerial photographic survey services. He is a past President of the Environmental Assessment Professionals Association of Namibia and was appointed by the Ministry as a Member of the Namibian Sustainable Development Advisory Council, the Nature Conservation Advisory Board and the Solid Waste Advisory Panel. Dr Brown served as the Chairperson of the Board of CCFN from its formation until November 2019 after which he resigned as per the succession plan. He is currently the CEO of the Namibian Chamber of Environment, an umbrella support organisation for the environmental NGO sector in Namibia and continues to serve as an Advisor to the CCFN Board of Directors.
Mr. Colgar Sikopo – Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism
Colgar Sikopo is the Director of Wildlife Services and Park Management in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. Colgar is a wildlife management specialist having worked for close to 20 years in wildlife and park management. He rose through the ranks from field staff to Director. As Director Colgar has been responsible in development of management plans for protected areas, infrastructure development and managing the interface between protected areas and communities living in and around protected areas. He has led the development of various pieces of legislation and policy including Parks and Neighbours Policy, Human Wildlife Conflict Policy and the Community Based Natural Resource Management Policy. Colgar has worked on proposals and mobilised funding from different donors including Global Environment Facility, KfW, European Union, and the Private Sector for wildlife and park management. Colgar currently serves as the Government’s selected representative on the Board of CCFN.
Mr. Ronny Dempers
Current Board of Directors
Adv. Andrew Corbett: Chairperson
Andrew is a well-known practicing advocate who has for years provided legal advice and litigation services in commercial disputes of a varied nature including but not limited to mining, environmental law, administrative law, human rights, constitutional law, property law, and labor law. Over the years, Andrew has rendered far-reaching legal opinions on a broad range of matters that align with CCFN’s operations including on customary law, traditional authorities, land and property, wildlife, water and other natural resources, tourism rights, and indigenous minorities. He served as a member of the Bar Council of the Society of Advocates of Namibia between 2002 and 2005, and from 2010 to present is its Vice-President. He is currently the Chairperson of the CCFN Board.
Hon. Bernadette. M. Jagger
Elected to the Board in her personal capacity, Hon. Bernadette Maria is an elected Member of Parliament and the National Assembly. She has held numerous positions in the ruling SWAPO Party, such as serving on the SWAPO Party Women’s Council for the past six years. In 2012, she was appointed as a Member of the SWAPO Party Central Committee, the highest decision-making structure between Congresses of the Party. Honorable Jagger was appointed by the Political Bureau of the SWAPO Party Central Committee as the Deputy Secretary for Economic Affairs in 2018. She is currently the Co-Chairperson of the Namibia Conservation Parliamentary Caucus, a body that aims to bring together Legislators in both Houses of Parliament on matters of national concern around conservation. She served as Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism between February 2018 to February 2020. Before this she served as the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resources and Community Development. She also served on the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders, the Parliamentary Standing Committees for Public Accounts and Information, Communication Technology and Innovation. Before joining Parliament, she served in various positions in the Ministry of Education, the latest position being a Deputy Director. She holds a Bachelor of Philosophy in Education (B.Phil. Ed) Degree from the University College of Marjons, Plymouth, UK. She is currently serving in the Namibian government as Deputy Minister of in the Ministry of Gender and Child Welfare responsible for the division of Poverty Eradication.
Mr. Chris Weaver
Chris Weaver is a well-respected common property natural resources management specialist, with over 40 years of experience working with communities, in finding innovative ways of addressing common property management issues. In 1982 Chris moved to Africa where he worked with communities in Lesotho on rangeland, livestock, and agricultural practices. Since 1993 Chris served as Chief of Party and Managing Director for the WWF Namibia Program until 2020. During this time, he has managed a number of large conservation initiatives such as the highly regarded USAID-funded Living In A Finite Environment (LIFE) Project from 1993 to 2008 and provided oversight to the WWF-supported Consortium’s contract with the Millennium Challenge Account’s (MCA) Conservancy Development Support Services Project. During his career, Chris has helped raise close to US$200 million in conservation-related funding and continues to be a leading advocate of Namibia’s CBNRM programme and conservation at large.
Mr. Jesaya Hano-Oshike
Jesaya holds academic credentials in Economics and Finance, Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management and Bank Management. He comes with an excellent knowledge of the Namibian Investment scene thanks to more than 10 years of experience in the local finance industry including the provision of consulting services to large pension funds and insurers. As a previous Head of Business Development at Start-up Namibia he also possesses invaluable experience in the Namibian start-up ecosystem. Jesaya is currently an Investment Consultant with RisCura Consulting Namibia where is specialises in Investment Advisory Services, Investment Analytics, Investment Strategy, Compliance services and Market Intelligence amongst others.
Ms. Michelle Erlank
Michelle is a Chartered Accountant by training with a solid proven executive experience in Namibia. Having served over 10 years as Treasurer of FirstRand Namibia and amassed over 17 years of banking experience amongst others she brings to the board a wealth of risk, executive strategy, and audit experience of note. A reading and chess enthusiast, she also serves CCFN as the Audit and Risk Committee Chairperson.
Ms. Bernadette Bock
Bernadette is currently the Executive Director of the UNAM Foundation. She brings to the CCFN governance vast experience in Grant Funds Management, Internal and External Stakeholder Management, Social Performance Management, and Community Relations. An alumnus of the University of Namibia from which she attained a Bachelor of Economics degree, Ms. Bock also holds a Masters’s Degree in Cooperative Economics from the Phillips University of Marburg, Germany. Her previous work experience includes work on an international biodiversity research project, focusing on the impacts of political incentives on natural resource use.
Mr. Immanuel Khadila
Mr. Immanuel Kadhila is a seasoned investment specialist with a comprehensive understanding of various facets of economics, investment, and financial management. Armed with a Master of Science in Investment Analysis from the University of Sterling, a degree in Economics from the University of Namibia, and a CFA Level III candidature he is currently the Managing Director of Eos Capital, a prominent unlisted Asset Manager responsible for over $1.1 billion of assets under management across three fund types. Prior to this, he served as Founding Head of Treasury at Government Institutions Pension Funds (GIPF), arguably the biggest finance portfolio in Namibia with total assets under management amounting to N$ 30 billion at which he played an instrumental role in drafting pivotal policy documents and guidelines that until today govern GIPF’s Investment Strategies. Immanuel serves as the Chairperson of CCFN’s Investment Committee and is responsible for the drafting and review of our investment guidelines and policies and for prudent management of investments in the pursuit of adequate returns per pre-set targets.
Mrs. Gitta Paetzold
Gitta Paetzold has for the past 25 years served the Hospitality Association of Namibia, a private-sector tourism accommodation organisation, committed to optimising the full potential of the Namibian Hospitality Industry. In her role, Gitta actively aims to build partnerships locally, continentally and internationally, in the strong belief that “tourism is everyone’s business”. With an academic background in political science and first work experience in the media fraternity as a radio & television journalist, Gitta has always been keen to help “tell the African story”, to ensure that the old narrative of Africa as the “dark continent” is counteracted with beautiful facts of this continent’s natural beauty and uniqueness, as well as its wealth of cultural diversity, as this is what makes this continent so valuable. Gitta strongly believes that key in developing tourism in Namibia and Africa, is to ensure that the local communities and the African people become actively engaged and responsible for the tourism product development.
Investment Committee Members
Ms. Namene Shejavali
Namene Shejavali-Lungu is a legal professional who practiced as an attorney at top law firms in both South Africa and Namibia. During her tenure in practice, she focused on a wide range of conventional corporate and commercial legal services and solutions. She joined the corporate ranks for the first time in 2019 as General Manager: Legal, Compliance and Company Secretary for a multinational fishing company. On 1 April 2021, she will enter the regulatory space at the Namibia Stock Exchange as Chief Regulatory Officer. Namene has demonstrable expertise in negotiating, drafting and reviewing corporate and commercial agreements, analysing and resolving legal problems, drafting legal opinions, advising on legal compliance, corporate governance and company secretarial matters and undertaking legal research. In addition to serving as a member of the Investment Committee of the CCFN, she is appointed as an independent member and chairperson of the Ashburton Investment Committee of the GIPF Infrastructure Mandate. Namene holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree and a Master of Laws Degree (Company Law, International Trade and Human Rights in the Marketplace) from the University of the Witwatersrand, which she obtained in 2003 and 2008 respectively.
Mr. Immanuel Khadila
(see profile under Current Board members)
Mr. Chris Weaver
(see profile under Current Board members)
Ms. Michelle Erlank
(see profile under Current Board members)
Audit & Risk Committee Members
Mr. Immanuel Khadila
(see profile under Current Board members)
Ms. Michelle Erlank
(see profile under Current Board members)
Mr. Sergio De Sousa
Data and Digital Transformation Strategist & Implementer
Sergio is an accomplished Chief Data and Analytics Officer with over 14 years experience in spearheading strategic initiatives, transformative projects, and organizational change within the highly regulated financial sector. His expertise extends across diverse departments, companies, and even countries, making him a versatile leader. Sergio worked at Bank of Namibia for almost 8 years holding numerous titles and portfolios reaching the title of Deputy Director. During his tenure, he championed technology advancements and developmental reforms within the National Payments System, coupled with overseeing risk assessment functions for multiple financial institutions. His career continued to evolve when he assumed the role of Head of Digital Transformation at the First National Bank of Namibia (FNB) in 2016. In this capacity, he played a pivotal role in monitoring global trends and executing a transformative strategy that bore fruit through a 3-year transformation plan. Subsequently, he was promoted to Chief Data and Analytics Officer, where he leads a team of professionals overseeing Information Management, Data Analytics, Process Re-Engineering, and Robotics Process Automation. His journey reflects an unwavering commitment to innovation, strategic leadership, and excellence.
Governance Alumni
Dr. Chris Brown
(see profile under Directors)
Mr. James Mnyupe (Investment Committee 2018 to 2020)
Between 2015 and 2020, James Mnyupe was the Managing Director of Allan Gray Namibia. He was responsible for running the business and serving institutional clients, local brokers, financial advisers and, on occasion, the financial services industry and the public sector. James holds the Chartered Accountant (CA) (SA)(Nam), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation. He is also a Harvard Kennedy Business School Graduate and brought to the table a wealth of industry experience in the setting up the CCFN’s Investment Committee and its foundational Investment Strategy. In 2020 James was selected to be an Economic Advisor to the Namibian presidium, a position he holds to date. He tendered his resignation from the Committee due to the national commitments
CCFN Staff Members
Mr. Tapiwa AM Makiwa: Chief Executive Officer
Tapiwa is a Chartered Accountant (CA), affiliated with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Namibia (ICAN). In addition to this professional qualification/accreditation, he also holds amongst others an Honours Degree in the Theory of Accounting and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting Sciences from the University of South Africa (UNISA). Having completed his accounting articles with KMPG Chartered Accountants and Auditors he has worked in the audit, mining, and hospitality, retail, and manufacturing sectors of business. Immediately prior to his current role as Chief Executive Officer of the Community Conservation Fund of Namibia, he served as Chief Finance and Business Development Officer for a local group of companies with interests in retail, hospitality, catering, and manufacturing. He has +/-17 years of progressive work experience in the financial field (audit, tax, accounting) and business and strategic management experience in the exploration, retail hospitality, and tourism sectors with both international and local companies, Tapiwa brings with him to the CCFN a wealth of business and financial knowledge suited to the operational and financial oversight of the Fund.
Ms. Selma Nangolo – Project Manager
Selma Tueumona Nangolo is currently the Project Manager at the Community Conservation Fund of Namibia (CCFN). Prior to that, she carved out a progressive career in Development Finance; Community Based Tourism, and Natural Resource Management. She is a highly experienced Project and Grants Manager with more than 15 years of experience working in the field. She has worked with multi-faceted institutions including Governments, Non-Governmental Institutions, the Private sector, and international donor agencies (such as the Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Programme and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)). She serves as a member of the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) Board’s Review Committee, has served on the National World Heritage Committee, and was a Steering committee member of the CESP (Community Based Natural Resource Management Enterprise Support project) funded by the EU. She has a Master of Science degree in Environmental Management specialising in Biodiversity Conservation and a Diploma in Commerce.
Ms. Tertu Iileka – Deputy Project Manager
Tertu is an environment and water scientist with a Master of Integrated Water Resources Management from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and a BSc. Honors degree in Environmental Biology and Geography from the University of Namibia. She is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with the Project Management Institute and has over 8 years of experience in project implementation, particularly in donor-funded Natural Resources Management projects.
Amongst notable projects supported include the Namibia Protected Landscape Conservation Areas Initiative (NAMPLACE), Strengthening the Capacities of the Protected Areas Network (PASS Project), and the Namibia National Parks Programme (NamParks) both supporting the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism to enhance management of Namibia’s protected Areas and surrounding landscapes.
She has experience in implementing Global Environment Funded (GEF), GIZ and KfW Development Bank projects and previously worked at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and MEFT before joining CCFN. Tertu currently coordinates activities of the approximately N$250 million CBNRM COVID-19 Mitigations Project as part of the Conservation Relief, Recovery and Resilience Facility (CRRRF) at CCFN.
Mrs. Hilaria Sakaria – Finance Officer
Hilaria holds a master’s in development finance and a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting. She has +/-10 years of work experience in Accounting and Administration in state-owned, non-profit organisation and private-owned entities.
Mr. Urioukwao Matundu – Project Technical Assistant (POSCCN)
Urioukwao Matundu is currently the Project Technical Assistant under the Poverty Oriented Support to Community Conservation in Namibia. Before he joined CCFN, he served as a Field Coordinator under the Protected Areas System Strengthening (PASS) Project for Etosha National Park, Waterberg Plateau Park and Kunene Region focusing on law enforcement, fire management, and automated park entry permits and revenue collection system. He was also a Landscape Conservation Specialist for Zambezi Region under the Namibia Protected Landscape Conservation Areas Initiative (Namplace) Project. Prior to that, he served as a part-time lecturer in the Department of Economics and Management Sciences at the Namibia University of Science and Technology. Urioukwao has a Master of Arts degree specialising in Natural resource and Development Economics from Osmania University (India) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography and Economics from the University of Namibia.
Janese Vilander – Project Administration Assistant (POSCCN)
Janese is currently the project administration assistant under the Poverty Oriented Support to Community Conservation in Namibia. Before she joined CCFN, she served as a legal secretary to a legal advisor at Namfisa. She was a personal assistant to the managing director at NACOBTA/NACSO. She also worked as an operations manager at Virgin Active.
With over 10 years of experience in administration and management, she also served as managing director at Regg Stars Learning Institute. Janese holds a Bachelor of Business Administration NQ7, Janese is a dedicated and detail-oriented Administration Officer with a passion for ensuring efficient and smooth operations within organizations. She brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table. She has demonstrated exceptional organizational skills, adeptly managing various administrative tasks such as scheduling appointments, coordinating meetings, managing correspondence, and maintaining records.
Mr. Tangi Hamukwaya – Procurement Officer
Tangi Hamukwaya is currently the Project procurement officer under the Poverty Oriented Support to Community Conservation in Namibia. Before he joined CCFN, he served as the Head of the Procurement Management Unit at AMTA, he worked as a Logistics Officer and as a Maintenance Officer at the same company. Immediately after graduating, he worked as a Business Associate at SME Competitiveness Consultancy (Pty) Ltd, a Regional Property Officer at NDC for the far northern regions and served as a part-time lecturer at the Polytechnic of Namibia.
With over Ten (10) years of experience in Procurement, Logistics, Supply Chain, Assets/Property Maintenance, and Business Administration/Commerce. He served as a member of the ELCIN Finance Board and has served as chairperson of the four (4-O Regions) regional developmental participatory committees. Tangi has a bachelor’s degree in business administration, a Management Development Programme – NQF Level 6 from the University of Stellenbosch Business School, currently enrolled as a member and student at Global Procurement Supply & Logistics Centre CIPS Level 4 Diploma in Procurement and Supply Operations.