Zama Mgwatyu

Working for DAG makes me feel like I am upholding the constitutional mandate of bettering the lives of previously disempowered citizens.

Zama is a Programme Manager at DAG. Having joined DAG in 2005, Zama has been involved in numerous DAG projects including informal settlement upgrading projects, ePHP projects and swathes of research projects. Currently, he leads DAG’s programmatic area called the Contractor and Developer Academy (CDA), which seeks to capacitate and mentor emerging contractors and micro developers. As the leader of CDA, 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 building the capacity of citizens to activate their own change. Zama holds an Honours degree in Public Administration from the University of Western Cape (UWC) as well as a Diploma in Urban Land Management and Informal Settlement Regularisation from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands. He also has a certificate in Housing Policy Development and Management with Wits University and a certificate in Housing Finance Course for Sub-Saharan Africa with UCT Graduate School of Business.