Staff Members
Akhona is a Project Coordinator for the Community Capacity Building and City-wide Coalitions programme at DAG. His work involves convening DAG’s Active Citizens Training Course, building the capacity of community leaders and organisations to lead their own development and facilitating the development of coalitions and networks to foster collective advocacy. He holds a National Diploma in Internal Auditing from Walter Sisulu University as well as a Certificate in Project Management Foundations from the University of Cape Town. Over the past 10 years, he has contributed to various practical community development initiatives, through conducting beneficiary stakeholder management in housing projects, facilitating community leadership courses, running homeowner education workshops, hosting community engagements and project managing platforms – resulting in the delivery of 10 housing projects for the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements. Akhona also played a key role in the social facilitation process conducted with the residents of the Pine Road informal settlement in Woodstock, which led to the development of Cape Town’s first transitional housing facility. Akhona enjoys working at DAG because the organisation has given him the opportunity to grow as a professional and has allowed him to change people’s lives for the better.
Akhona Siswana
Project Coordinator
Alicia is the Human Resources Administrator at DAG. Her work focuses on providing administrative support to project staff and programme managers. In addition, she provides HR support to the Executive Director. She is particularly passionate about cultivating a work environment that empowers and motivates employees, while also helping them to realise their full potential within this organisation. She holds a degree in Industrial Psychology and Public Administration from the University of the Western Cape. She enjoys working at DAG, because she believes the organisation provides a platform for continued learning that enables people to grow and learn something new every day.
Alicia Cornelius
Human Resources Administrator
Annette is a Project Coordinator for the Inclusive Neighbourhoods programme at DAG. Her work focuses on collaborating with communities and other key stakeholders to facilitate access to well-located land and affordable housing. Key to achieving this objective is leveraging the agency and knowledge of residents about their community needs and aspirations. Annette has conducted research on what this entails at a community level, authoring publications on the right of access to adequate housing, local government competences of municipal health services, water and sanitation and the duty to facilitate public participation in the context of basic service delivery. She recently obtained her Doctoral degree which focused on the basic service delivery mandate of local government. Annette is an attorney of the High Court of South Africa. She considers it a privilege to be part of the DAG team, collectively striving towards making inroads into creating better, dignified living conditions for all.
Annette May
Project Coordinator
Bonisa is a Project Support Officer at DAG who works within the Informal Settlements programme. Her work involves providing administrative support to the Asivikelane Project and elevating the voices of Informal Settlement residents through helping to organise capacity-building workshops and develop media content. Bonisa enjoys her work at DAG because the organisation provides a platform for her to create change within marginalised communities through advocating for access to resources and basic services and fostering collaborative relationships between community members, government officials and other stakeholders. Bonisa holds an Honours Degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor's Degree in Politics and Governance and Environmental and Geographical Science (EGS) from the University of Cape Town.
Bonisa Mange
Project Support Officer
Crystal is a Programme Manager at DAG. She oversees multiple programmes, including: Community capacity building and City-wide Coalitions, Informal Settlements and Inclusive Neighbourhoods. She has a stellar track record, and has successfully launched and managed large scale programs in NGOs for over 25 years. She has coordinated several multi-disciplinary human settlements projects in both the EPHP and Informal Settlement Upgrading spheres from inception to completion. In addition, Crystal has led the implementation of community-prioritised sustainable livelihood initiatives in more than 10 projects in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Crystal’s extensive experience in neighbourhood development, capacity building and strengthening community-based organisations, is indicative of her genuine passion to see people lead their own development. She holds a Bachelor of Social Science in Social Work obtained from the University of Cape Town in 1995.
Crystal West
Programme Manager
Grant is a Project Officer who works in the Inclusive Neighbourhoods programme at DAG. His work entails collaborating with active citizens, civics, and other stakeholders to support the creation of inclusive neighbourhood solutions, challenging resistance to these changes, and working towards a just relocation process for the Salt River Market community. Grant is an accredited mediator and mediation trainer (commercial and family disputes) (ADR Group (UK), Conflict Dynamics, FAMAC), and practised as an attorney for about 30 years. His interest in mediation and facilitated solutions emerged through realising the limits of traditional adversarial methods as a legal practitioner.He holds BA (Politics and Psychology) and BA (Hons) (Psychology) degrees from UNISA and an LLB degree from UCT. Grant’s interest in social justice and empowered, participative processes, is finding expression and is being developed in the active citizenship and spatial reimagining work that he is involved with at DAG.
Grant Gunston
Project Officer
Helen is the Programme Director at the Development Action Group. Helen has twenty years of experience in the urban development sector with a focus on affordable housing, neighbourhood regeneration, informal settlement upgrading and Land Value Capture. Her work is driven by a deep commitment to address spatial inequality in cities through innovative partnerships. She is also currently the project lead for the National Programme on Land Value Capture in partnership with the National Treasury Cities Support Programme and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. This project is geared to provide technical support and training to metros. Throughout her career, Helen has been at the forefront of significant evidence-based research and community- based planning projects that have led to policy reforms in inclusionary housing and informal settlement upgrading.
Helen Rourke
Programme Director
Helena works as the Accountant at DAG, taking responsibility for all the accounting functions and needs within the organisation. She has extensive experience working in the NPO Sector, having worked for Credit Union Cooperatives, the People’s Dialogue on Land and Shelter and Shackdwellers International (SDI) in her time. She holds a Diploma in Management Accounting and Finance and enjoys working for DAG because it is an organisation that truly operates with integrity. She believes that while her work is behind the scenes in finance, her role has purpose as she is contributing to DAG’s mission to empower and strengthen communities and to redress the inequalities created by the past.
Helena Davids
Accountant
Indipile is a Project Officer at DAG who works in the People-Led Housing Solutions programme. His work involves equipping and empowering contractors and developers through DAG’s Contractor and Developer Academy and the City of Cape Town’s Township Development Charge Fund. Indipile is a candidate construction manager who holds a Diploma in Construction, and an Advanced Diploma in Construction Management from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). He is passionate about South Africa’s built environment sector and is excited about the opportunity to do work that makes this sector more inclusive and accessible for emerging, small-scale entrepreneurs through knowledge-sharing and the development of innovative support mechanisms. Indipile is deeply inspired by Steve Jobs’ assertion that “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” and looks forward to living this out through his work at DAG.
Indipile Makuleni
Project Officer
Kamogelo is a Project Coordinator at DAG. Her work primarily focuses on the Contractor and Developer Academy (CDA) and the Backyard Matters projects. Her responsibilities include enhancing the capabilities of emerging developers and backyard communities to implement their community-driven housing solutions. Kamo has a strong background in GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and studied City and Regional Planning at the University of Cape Town (UCT). She is passionate about thinking spatially about justice - not only from a theoretical point of view but also through making use of practical knowledge to lead the development of a more inclusive city.
Kamogelo Shika
Project Coordinator
Kathryn Byrnes is a Project Officer at DAG, where she focuses on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning. She captures the impact of DAG's programmes and projects for monitoring, learning, communications, and funding purposes. She is passionate about the power of stories and bold conversation to build more caring and connected African cities. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Environmental and Geographic Sciences, English Language and Literature and Ocean and Atmosphere Science, and a master's degree in environmental and Geographic Sciences from the University of Cape Town, with a focus on housing access and housing innovations of the urban poor and working class. She is passionate about the power of stories and bold conversation and hopes to be a part of building more caring and connected African cities through her work at DAG.
Kathryn Byrnes
Project Officer
Kathy currently serves as DAG’s Operations Director. Over the last X years Kathy has played a crucial role in orchestrating systems support changes within DAG’s organisational strategies to respond to the ever-changing external conditions in the urban development sector. She is involved in the management of DAG’s administrative, financial and human resources functions and is responsible for the efficient and effective running of these systems. Throughout DAG’s history, Kathy’s nurturing leadership style has played a key role in the mentorship and development of countless young urban professionals, and she continues to foster a safe, empowering and enabling environment for DAG staff to grow. She has worked in the non-profit sector throughout her working career and is passionate about making a difference in society both personally and professionally. Kathy’s dedication to social justice and meaningful transformation stems from a long history of community activism, and she sees the continuation of this activism through her work at DAG.
Kathy Aranes
Operations Director
Ludwe is a Project Officer at DAG who works in the Informal Settlement’s Programme under the Asivikelane campaign. His work involves fostering advocacy, lobbying and data collection processes that highlight service delivery gaps in informal settlements. His main areas of interest are socio-economic rights, spatial justice, housing development and informal settlement upgrading. Ludwe is currently a PhD Candidate at Stellenbosch University, and he holds a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of Cape Town. He started working at DAG as an Intern in 2021 and loves the work that he does because he feels that DAG is working towards creating a just city for all. He particularly appreciates the fact that DAG works towards this goal using a variety of strategies from building relationships with key decision makers to engaging and co-creating collaborative strategies with marginalised communities.
Ludwe Qosho
Project Officer
Nikelwa is a Community Facilitator Coordinator for the Asivikelane project at DAG. Her role is to recruit community facilitators (CFs), facilitate engagements, and prepare residents and CFs for Asivikelane Hub meetings. She is also responsible for supporting the Cape Town Hub CFs as they coordinate responses from the Repairs and Maintenance teams and collect data. As a dedicated activist, Nikelwa has gained experience through leading engagements, and organising and mobilising around issues impacting her community. Her unwavering motivation stems from her commitment to rectify the injustices of the past, which have denied millions of people land.
Nikelwa Maqula
Community Facilitator Coordinator
Nosive is a Project Officer at DAG. She joined the organisation in 2021 as an Informal Settlement Support Programme (ISSP) Intern. She later joined the CDA and Backyarders Matters team where she now leads various aspects of the Contractor Training Course and Contractor Support function. Nosive holds an Honours degree in City Planning from the University of Cape Town. She is an advocate for inclusive cities and people-centred development, with a particular interest in marginalized women and children. Nosive envisions cities where women and children feel safe and comfortable to travel, work, and play.
Nosive Ngcawe
Project Officer
Ntombi is a Receptionist and General Assistant at DAG. She is responsible for maintaining our office space, welcoming guests, managing office and event logistics and ensuring that meetings run smoothly. She acts as the face of DAG and sets a high standard of professionalism for DAG staff to follow. Outside of DAG you will find her in the gym, playing netball and attending community meetings.
Ntombi Reshane
General Assitant
Raevaldo is a Project Officer at DAG who works within the Urban Land for Inclusive Cities Programme. His work focuses primarily on Land Value Capture as a mechanism for inclusive urban development and systems for effective public land release to aid in the delivery of affordable housing. He is particularly interested in the potential of leasehold arrangements on well-located public land to ensure more sustainable models of affordable housing delivery. He holds a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of Cape Town and a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Planning from the University of the Witwatersrand. He is deeply passionate about innovative urban planning mechanisms that bring about social and spatial justice, and is excited to be working for the organisation to further drive its extensive social impact.
Raevaldo van Rooyen
Project Officer
Sharon is a Project Officer at DAG who works within the Community capacity building and City-wide coalitions programme. Her role includes providing socio-technical support to community-based organisations and serving as a part of the team that facilitates the Active Citizens Training Course. She is passionate about placemaking and creating environments of equality for women and girls. She is a graduate from the City Planning (Hons) programme at the University of Cape Town and has a background in architecture. Her previous work experience includes volunteering at the PHA Food and Farming Campaign, where she helped to conceptualise designs of farmlands along the urban edge for subsistence farming to prevent urban encroachment. She enjoys working at DAG because the organisation is value driven and listens to what communities have to say. Working at DAG allows her to further develop her technical skills while putting people and their needs first.
Sharon Ho
Project Officer
Sheldon is a Project Support Officer at DAG, working in the Inclusive Neighbourhoods Programme. His work involves supporting just relocation processes in Salt River by ensuring participatory planning, documenting household needs and engaging with key stakeholders to negotiate just outcomes for marginalised households. Sheldon is currently completing a Higher Certificate in Community Counselling at the Cornerstone Institute.
Sheldon Heuvel
Project Support Officer
Siphephelo Mvelase is a Project Support Officer at DAG who works in the People-Led Housing Solutions programme. Her role involves supporting project implementation, engaging with stakeholders and contributing to initiatives that promote inclusive urban development. Siphephelo is an Urban and Regional Planner, with expertise in spatial planning and a strong interest in human settlements development. She holds an Honours degree in Spatial Planning, specialising in Human Settlements, from the University of the Free State. She values continuous learning and is passionate about using her skills to support DAG’s mission of achieving liveable and affordable spaces for all.
Siphephelo Mvelase
Project Support Officer
Vuyokazi is a Project Officer for the Community Capacity Building and City-Wide Coalitions programme. Her work includes leading research, lobbying, and partnership development activities within the programme’s projects. She is involved in analysing policies, formulating policy proposals, conducting advocacy work, and supporting the implementation of training programmes. Vuyokazi holds a Master’s degree in Politics, an Honours degree in International Studies (cum laude), and an undergraduate BA degree in Social Dynamics from Stellenbosch University and is a 2023 Futurelect SADC Public Leadership Fellow. She is passionate about co-creating inclusive societies and believes that each project she’s involved in will enable her to do precisely that.
Vuyokazi Hlwatika
Project Officer
Yena is a Finance Administrator at DAG. Her work focuses mainly on providing financial and administrative support to the organisation and its staff. She holds an Advanced Diploma in Internal Auditing from UNISA and has a number of years experience in the accounting and auditing fields. Yena enjoys working at DAG because the organisation’s values resonate with her personal principles and allow her to contribute meaningfully to our nation’s housing and human rights challenges.
Yena Dondashe
Finance Administrator
Zama is a Programme Manager at DAG. Having joined DAG in 2005, Zama has been involved in numerous DAG projects including informal settlement upgrading, ePHP projects and swathes of research projects. Currently, he leads DAG’s People-led Housing Solutions programme, which is made up of the Contractor and Developer Academy (CDA) and the Backyard Matters (BYM) project. As the leader of this programme, Zama has extensive experience liaising with government representatives from different spheres of government, micro-finance institutions operating in the affordable rental space, and a range of other stakeholders including development forums, social movements and community-based organisations. He is an expert facilitator and is invested in empowering active citizens to lead their own development. Zama holds an Honours degree in Public Administration from the University of the Western Cape (UWC) as well as a Diploma in Urban Land Management and Informal Settlement Regularisation from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Zama Mgwatyu
Programme Manager
Zinzi is the Operations Administrator at DAG. Her work providing administrative support to the DAG team enables the effective and efficient functioning of the organisation and is instrumental when it comes to arranging workshops and events. Zinzi also plays a crucial role when it comes to the safeguarding of the DAG team, ensuring that measures are put in place to protect DAG staff, both when working within communities and within our office spaces. She has cultivated a warm, transparent office culture that empowers staff members to raise issues and work collaboratively for the betterment of our organisation.
Zinzi Gatyeni
Operations Administrator
DAG team values
APPRECIATION & RESPECT
Balance
The principles of integration and sustainability resonate with us; we value living balanced lives by nurturing all of our dimensions- the physical, intellectual, spiritual, social and emotional.
CONTINUOUS LEARNING
We value learning and are open to new ideas and possibilities. By constantly developing our skills, knowledge and abilities, we strive to learn new things from each other through reflecting on and sharing our experiences.
INTEGRITY
OPEN & HONEST COMMUNICATION
TEAMWORK