It is safe to say that no two days in the City are ever the same. That’s why Anele Kwababa chose to work for the Joburg municipality. She says she desired a challenging role that allows her to contribute to the growth of the organisation.
Kwababa was appointed Group Head of Group Human Capital Management last November. She’s not new to the City though. She joined the organisation as a director of organisational development in January 2020.
Born in East London, in the Eastern Cape, no challenge ever scared Kwababa. She is grateful for the amazing job opportunities that came her way, helping shape her and bring her to where she is today.
“So far, it’s been wild. It’s an interesting and highly dynamic and volatile environment because you don’t only deal with one aspect of things. What was relevant yesterday may not be so today,” she explains.
Her new role includes developing human resource policies and implementing them to enable employees to exist in a sound policy environment. Kwababa relies on her team, each person with their own speciality. She pays attention to them and their wellness. “I am leading leaders. I need to give wisdom and insight,” she adds.
After matriculating, Kwababa pursued a Bachelor in Social Sciences degree at the University of Cape Town and later completed a management advisory qualification.
Her career started at the Provincial Administration of the Western Cape, in the Premier’s office, where she worked as an organisational development consultant in the early 2000s, responsible for restructuring the department.
She has always been open to “doing things differently” in her career and has had a solid start in the public sector, filled with great mentors.
In 2005, Kwababa relocated to Gauteng to accept the role of assistant director for Strategic Management in the Department of Home Affairs. Her duties included developing organisational strategy, as well as monitoring, and evaluating them. This is where she was seconded to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to help develop and facilitate the implementation of a strategic plan for their department of interior.
She joined the department of International Relations and Cooperation as deputy director of organisational development in 2007. This is where she developed her diplomatic stint.
A year later, Kwababa took a sabbatical for six months to rethink and reposition herself. The following year, she joined a private sector investment company, which opened a new and different world. She also sat on boards of various companies. Thereafter, she started her own consulting firm, and the City of Ekurhuleni welcomed her on board as an independent consultant. She was focused on flagship projects as well as the macro-organisational structure review and design.
During the time, Kwababa started her own toilet paper factory in Midrand and employed 10 people, while still focusing on her consulting business. She did consulting work for the Chingola municipality in Zambia, helping it with strategic alignment. She even collaborated with Nigeria in between. In 2015, African Financial Group got her on board as a consultant.
Kwababa considers herself a public servant through and through. “I want to see meaningful change,” she adds.
She’s passionate about family. It motivates her and she considers it essential to living a successful life because it holds you accountable.
“Family humbles you. By the time you’re being celebrated by your family, it means you’re a great person. When your family says you’re doing great, they mean it because they know the best and worst of you. The community you surround yourself with makes or breaks you,” she says.
Kwababa has four siblings and three nephews. She loves travelling and cooking for friends and family. What she loves most about working for the City is interacting with a diverse group of people and knowing that she is playing a meaningful role in creating a world class African City that brings about change in the livelihoods of people living, working and investing in Johannesburg.
Written by Brümilda Swartbooi
04/03/2022