Social Development Has New Director-General

By Dipo Olowookere

The Minister of Social Development, Ms Bathabile Dlamini, has welcomed the announcement by Cabinet of the new Director-General of the Department of Social Development, Mr Zane Dangor.

Mr Dangor has been the Special Advisor to the Minister of Social Development since she was appointed in 2010. Before assuming that position, he previously served as Chief Operating Officer in the Department.

Before joining the Department, he managed the Development Resource Centre for 10 years, contributing to the South African Human Development Report and the UN Common Country Assessment for South Africa. He has consulted governments and civil society organisations (CSOs) in South Africa, the SADC Region and East Africa on key issues of Human and Social Development, especially advancing Gender Equality.

Mr Dangor has also worked with the International Human Rights Law Group on transitional justice in West Africa, developing advocacy strategies for civil society movements and uniting pro-democracy NGOs in Abacha’s Nigeria. He also secured partnerships between Palestinian NGOs and the then-newly formed Palestinian Authority.

Mr Dangor helped in the forming of the South African National NGO Coalition and established a learning network between South African and Philippine NGOs. He holds a Master’s in Public and Development Management and an LLM in International Law from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

“I want to welcome Mr Dangor to the Department. I believe he will contribute immensely to the strategic direction and objectives of the Department. We have been working together for a while and I believe his extensive experience in the Department, the civil rights movement in and outside the country, will assist everyone to make sure that the Department is able to achieve its mandate,” said Minister Bathabile Dlamini.