FoodBank South Africa (FBSA) is proud to announce the appointment of William Mzimba as chairman of its board of members and its board of directors, and Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana as chairman of the newly formed FoodBank Foundation.A passionate food security activist, Mpumlwana was a member of the South African Forum for Food Security that along with the Global Foodbanking Network (GFN) birthed FBSA one year ago. He steps down as chairman of the board of members but will continue to play an active role as an advocate for food security in South Africa.
South Africa produces enough food to feed its entire population, yet 14.4 million South Africans are vulnerable to food insecurity because of poverty and lack of access to food.
FBSA is a section 21 company committed to eradicating food insecurity in South Africa. The organisation, which is a public private partnership, feeds 66,000 hungry people nationwide every day.
The FoodBank Foundation is a BEE investment trust set up to create substantial and sustainable income flows for FBSA, primarily through being a broad-based BEE partner.
Mzimba, who is also one of the founders of FBSA, serves on the board of the Global Foodbanking Network. He said it was immensely gratifying to be part of a team that creates sustainable solutions to hunger, leveraging best systems and processes to link the food secure with the food insecure.
“As chairman of FBSA’s board of members, I will use my knowledge, network and expertise to bring about innovative ideas to solving the scourge of hunger,” he said.
Mzimba has an MBA, a BA (Honours) in Business Studies and a diploma in datametrics.
No stranger to food insecurity, he is passionate about fighting hunger. “On school days, my aunt used to give me lunch – sometimes only a small piece of bread. It was often all I would eat in a day. Without it I wouldn’t have had the strength to learn or possibly to live. I am here so that others can have the opportunity that my aunt afforded me.”
Mpumlwana, who is head of the Northern Diocese of the Ethiopian Episcopal Church, serves on the boards of a number of non-profit organisations, including the National Development Agency, Trust Africa and the Historic Schools Project.
FBSA’s board of members includes: Gail Klintworth, the CEO of Unilever South Africa; “Venkat” Venkatachalam, the MD of Kellogg Company South Africa; Suzanne Ackerman-Berman, the transformation director for Pick n Pay; Edna Molewa, the Minister of Social Development; and Roddy Sparks, a businessman and former CEO of Old Mutual South Africa.
