The Umhlatuzana Education Fund (UEF) is registered as a South African Non-Profit Company under the Companies Act of 2008 (registration number 2022/383364/08). The UEF has been registered with SARS (South African Revenue Service) as a Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) with Tax Exempt Status (PBO registration number 930076439) and has been granted Section 18(a) Status. Section 18(a) status enables the UEF to issue certificates allowing donors to benefit from a deduction from South African taxation on their donations. The UEF has undertaken to provide audited annual financial statements.
The UEF is governed by a five-member Board of Directors. Here are the bios of the current Directors:
Dorina Bowes (Chair) has extensive experience both in the private and public sectors. Until 2016 Bowes served as Senior Administrative Officer at the Education Policy Unit and School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at the University of Witwatersrand, working as a member of the Executive team with internal and external stakeholders including the Universities of Bristol, Sussex, and Bath in the UK and managing funds from the NRF, HRSC, CSIR, and the University. Since 2017 in addition to running her own business, as part of Pinetown Rotary Club Bowes has been following her passion to work with disadvantaged communities, organizing literacy and other educational programmes in the Ndengezi township near Durban. Bowes is a member of AAT (SA) having obtained an International Accounting Diploma. Her qualifications include: Project Management Diploma (UNISA), Financial Management Diploma (Damelin), and an MBA (Success Institute).
Deon Delport, current Secretary of the Rotary Club of Durban Umhlatuzana and Past President of the club, is a journalist and retired print media editor. He has worked on six print media titles, in Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, and Durban, where he lives. A graduate of Rhodes University, he has a BA Hons in Political Studies (African). He is married to Sally Fowler, also a journalist, and they have one son, Duncan, who teaches English in Krakow, Poland.
Thomas Konrad studied Physics and Philosophy in Tübingen, London, Rome, and Konstanz. He holds a Master of Science from the Eberhard-Karls University in Tübingen with a dissertation in celestial mechanics, a Master of Science of the University of London (Imperial College) in quantum field theory and a doctorate in theoretical physics form the University of Konstanz. He is full professor at UKZN and the Academic Leader of Physics in Durban. Thomas Konrad pioneers research in quantum information processing and communication. He promotes the interplay between science and arts, and brings science into the public realm through newspaper articles and radio interviews.
Lucky Mtungwa is Principal of the Mariannridge Senior Secondary School.
Venketas Adiah Naidoo, also known as Richard Naidoo, was born and brought up in Durban, South Africa. After Matric Naidoo studied Finance, Accounting, English, and Afrikaans at the ML Sultan Technical College and qualified with a Certificate in Financial Plannning (CFP). Naidoo founded Richard Naidoo and Associates, an insurance brokerage of note and in operation for 55 years. He is member of 23 organisations. He is Vice-President of Southside FM 107.2 and Past President of the Rotary Club of Durban Umhlatuzana. He is married to Sundaree Naidoo with 4 graduate children in their respective professions. Naido is a competitive golfer. His first gold pro was Papwa. Naidoo is Member and Past President of the Durban Golf Club.
The Board of Directors has appointed two officers:
Martin Bucher (Executive Officer), current president of the Rotary Club of Durban Umhlatuzana, is since 2004 Directeur de recherche at the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique based at the Université de Paris Cité, where he specializes in astrophysics. Bucher visits the University of KwaZulu-Natal during the summers, where he works on the UKZN-led HIRAX radiotelescope project and leads an NITheCS-funded project on theoretical genomics. Bucher is an elected member of the Academy of Science of South Africa. Bucher holds a doctorate in Physics from the California Institute of Technology and has held positions at the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton University, the CN Yang Institute of Theoretical Physics, and the University of Cambridge before settling in France. While an undergraduate at UC Berkeley in 1980s, Bucher was very active in the movement for the University of California to disinvest from companies doing business in the then apartheid South Africa.
Sinenhlanhla Precious Sikhosana (Chief Operating Officer) is currently South African Radio Astronomy Observatory Postdoctoral Fellow based at UKZN (University of KwaZulu-Natal). Born in Harding, KwaZulu-Natal, Sikhosana received her BSc, BSc (Hons), MSc, and PhD from UKZN in Applied Mathematics. Her research deals with the study of galaxy clusters using data in the radio and microwave bands. Sikhosana has also held a number of tutoring and lecturing positions and has participated in many outreach and public engagement activities. Sikhosana has received numerous awards including the L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science award, the South African Young Talents Research Grant, and the UKZN Wonder Women in Science award. She was selected to attend the 69th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting.
Janakie Thathiah (Treasurer) holds a Post Graduate Degree in Management Accounts from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and is past member of the Chartered Institute for Management Accountants (CIMA). Thathiah holds a TESOL qualification from Trinity College and a Certificate in HIV Biology, Epidemiology, and Prevention from the John Hopkins School of Public Health. Thathiah has 42 years of corporate experience, mainly multinationals, with the last 10 years as Finance Director of Beirsdorf South Africa. Currently she is Program Head for HIV and TB interventions with Key Population, mother of 3 wonderful children, and grandmother of 4 amazing grandchildren.