
Dr Jennifer Balatedi Molwantwa
Dr. Jennifer Balatedi Molwantwa, CEO of the Water Research Commission of South Africa (WRC), sits on various government advisory boards. Her passion is for capacity building, skills development, and the inclusion of historically disaffected individuals (HDI) in mainstream science and technology careers and the economy, in which water and land are integral. Molwantwa joined the WRC in 2014 after working at Pulles Howard & de Lange (later incorporated into Golder Associates Africa) as a research assistant and water resource consultant, respectively, and at Digby Wells Environmental as a unit Manager.
At the WRC, Molwantwa was the Research Manager responsible for water resource quality prior to being appointed Executive: Water Resource Management at the Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA), where she served for five years.
Experienced in matters of governance, Molwantwa has served on the Governing Board of the IUCMA, UKZN’s Council, where she also represented the Council at the University Senate, and on the boards of the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA) and the Environmental Assessment Practitioners Association of South Africa (EAPASA). She is also a member of the Department of Fisheries, Forestry, and the Environment (DFFE) Sub-Committee appointed to develop the National Implementation Plan (NIP) for the management of chemicals in South Africa.
Molwantwa served as a commissioner on the first five-year National Planning Commission that developed the National Development Plan (NDP) and Vision 2030 for the Republic of South Africa.
Molwantwa completed her Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science honours, master’s, and PhD in biotechnology, as well as a postgraduate diploma in enterprise management at Rhodes University, and she is a Registered Professional Natural Scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions and a member of the Institute of Directors South Africa. She also completed the International Executive Development Program offered jointly by Wits Business School and the London School of Business.
Molwantwa is passionate about capacity building, skills development, and the inclusion of Historically Disadvantaged Individuals in mainstream science and technology careers and the economy, in which water and land are integral.