Popo Molefe served two successful terms as Premier of the North West Province and Chairperson of the ANC in the North West. Dr Molefe was active in the liberation struggle and was one of 22 convicted of high treason at the Delmas Treason Trial and sentenced to 10 years on Robben Island. He was part of the negotiating team that held talks with Mr FW de Klerk in 1990. Popo has been awarded the Harvard University Certificate for Conflict Resolution and has diplomas in leadership from the Wharton School of Business and JFK School of Governance at Harvard. He was chairperson of the ANC’s election committee that ran the highly successful 1994 election campaign. He has been instrumental in promoting business development in the North West Province and brings to Lereko a depth of leadership experience and expertise. Popo currently serves as chairperson of Petro SA, Armscor, Simeka BSG and Anooraq Resources Corporation and as board member of the Central Energy Fund and the Strategic Fuel Fund. He is Chancellor of the North-West University.

Popo Molefe is the Chief Executive Officer of Lereko.

Valli Moosa served as Minister of Constitutional Development in former President Mandela’s Cabinet from 1994 to 1999 and as Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in President Mbeki’s Cabinet from 1999 to 2004. During his term he was a member of the Economic Affairs, Investment and Employment and International Relations Cabinet committees. He was integrally involved in the negotiations between the ANC and the apartheid government resulting in the peaceful transition to democracy.

He played a central role in the drafting of the new South African Constitution. He has served on a number of the subcommittees of the ANC and is a National Executive Committee member.  He has also served on various boards and commissions including serving as the Chairperson of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development from 2002 to 2003, as well as the Business Trust. He is the former President of the World Conservation Union. He is a non-executive director of a number of boards of public and private companies including Sanlam and Imperial Holdings. He is recognised for his expertise in conflict resolution and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of industry and environmental issues, not only through his work in areas such as sustainable development and environment but through his proven South African and international leadership roles.

Valli Moosa is the Executive Chairman of Lereko.

Lulu Gwagwa has a Masters degree in Town and Regional Planning from the University of Natal, an MSc (cum laude) from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a PhD from University College, London. In 1995 Lulu was appointed as Deputy Director General in the national Department of Public Works to establish the National Public Works Programme. Amongst her responsibilities was to initiate the transformation of the construction industry and the establishment of the emerging contractor development programme. She completed a five-year term as CEO of the Independent Development Trust (“IDT”), where she was tasked with the transformation of the IDT from a grant awarding agency to an implementation-management agency. By the time she left, the IDT had a programme portfolio of over a billion rand and had been appointed by Cabinet to support government in coordinating and implementing the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme. Lulu has also served on various government commissions, including the Commission for the Delineation and Demarcation of Provincial Boundaries and the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Local Government Transformation. She serves as a non-executive director on the boards of the FirstRand, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Sun International and Massmart. She was a finalist in the 2001 Nedbank Business Woman of the Year awards.

Lulu Gwagwa is the Chief Operating Officer of Lereko.

Cedrick qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1999 after completing his 3 year training contract with Ernst & Young. Prior to Lereko, Cedrick was a Senior Manager at Mettle Limited where he gained extensive experience in debt origination and structuring with specific emphasis on asset backed securitization and credit enhanced debt issues on behalf of corporate and institutional clients, as well as in transaction risk management and reporting policy and procedures. Cedrick spent just over 6 years at Mettle in the Securitisation and Structured Finance divisions. Before then, Cedrick was a Senior Financial Advisor at Eskom Generation Finance specializing in project evaluations and financial feasibility, group financial planning and budgeting.

Cedrick Mampuru is the Chief Financial Officer.

Profiles of Lereko shareholders

MS MARTHA MOLOBI

Ms Martha Molobi is currently working at Sacred Heart College, a Catholic Private School in Johannesburg. Before then she worked at the University of Witwatersrand. She worked along side her late husband, Eric Molobi, during the liberation struggle and she is the founding member of the National Education Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU). She also co-founded CORD (Charge or Release the Detainees) in the early 1970’s. She is the staunch member of the Mother’s Union of the Bethesta Methodist Mission in Houghton.

MR MURPHY MOROBE

Mr Murphy Morobe was the head of communications in the office of the State President until his appointment as the CEO of Kagiso Media on 1 November 2006 He was chairman of the Financial and Fiscal Commission for ten years until 2004. He also served as chairman of the South African National Parks Board and Ernst & Young SA, and on the boards of Old Mutual (SA) and Resolve Group.

MR TSHEKO RATSHEKO

Mr Tsheko Ratsheko is currently the manager: corporate compliance at Exxaro Resources (formerly Kumba Resources). He was previously the Chief Director Compliance and Enforcement in the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment. Before then, he was the regulatory and corporate legal advisor for the South African Bureau of Standards. Tsheko is an advocate of the High Court of South Africa.