Mr. Mpumelelo Phungula
Bio
Mr. Mpumelelo Phungula is a dedicated public servant with 10 years of work experience in the public service having begun his career as an Intern up until he broke into the management echelons in 2015. He has previously worked as a Refugee Status Determination Officer and a Refugee Reception Officer respectively at the Department of Home Affairs. He also served a brief stint as a Research Assistant: Oral History at the KZN Department of Arts and Culture.
During his university days, Phungula had the opportunity to work as a Residence Assistant for UKZN and as a Tutor for the School of Politics. He is currently an Assistant Director: Consumer Advisor for the Business Regulation and Governance directorate of the KZN Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs. Driven by passion for youth activism and his keen interest in the fields of Migration and Human Rights, Phungula also volunteers as a Youth Ambassador for the International Organization for Migration-South Africa (IOM-SA) advocating for youth inclusion in policy-making and governance around migration issues at national, regional, and international levels. As an agent for youth economic inclusion, he serves as the KZN Provincial Coordinator for the Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship – South Africa (SAGE-SA) as well as an Alumni Board Member for ENACTUS-UKZN.
On the academic and training front, Phungula holds an Honours degree in Political Science and a Bachelor of Social Science (Law & Political Science majors) both obtained from his almer mater, the UKZN. He continued to accumulate various professional training certificates from the National School of Government, Activate Academy, the African Union (AU) in partnership with Rudo Institute, and the Institute for Security Studies in Partnership with the AU respectively. The focus areas of the professional trainings he has undertaken include Governance, Community Development, Leadership, Migration, Human Rights, Peace and Security Studies, and Entrepreneurship.