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News release

Development, academic, and business leaders join Afrobarometer governance team

2 May 2022
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News release

Three leaders in African studies, development, and business have joined the governance bodies providing strategic guidance and oversight to Afrobarometer, the research network announced Monday.

Nozipho January-Bardill, a retired diplomat and chair of the Council of the Nelson Mandela University, and Peter M. Lewis, who directs the African studies program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), will serve as members of the board of directors.

Frank Mwiti, the Eastern Africa Markets Leader at Ernst & Young, will serve on the network’s International Advisory Council, which provides strategic intelligence, foresight, and influence to support and promote the world’s leading source of African public opinion data.

“Through their commitment to realizing Africa’s vast potential, these three ‘industry’ leaders inspire us to excellence,” Afrobarometer Board Chair E. Gyimah-Boadi said in announcing the appointments. “The tremendous insights and experience they bring to the table, and their shared vision of a well-governed and prosperous continent, will strengthen our network in its mission of ensuring that African citizens’ voices are heard.”

January-Bardill, former South African ambassador to Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Holy See, also serves as chairperson of the United Nations Global Compact Local Network in South Africa. She is an independent non-executive director of Mercedes-Benz South Africa, the MTN Foundation, and two NGOs, Tshwaranang Legal Services (for women who are victims of gender-based violence) and Phenduka Literacy (for under-educated primary school pupils in Alexander Township).

She serves on the board of trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Technical Assistance and the Implementation of the Universal Periodic Report (UPR) in the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Her company, Bardill and Associates, advises businesses on integrating race, gender, and sustainable development into their strategies.

Lewis, the Warren Weinstein Associate Professor of African Studies at Johns Hopkins SAIS, has directed the school’s Africa Studies program since 2006 and currently oversees the school’s Middle East program.

Lewis is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the editorial board of the Journal of Democracy. His research and teaching focus on economic reform and political transition in developing countries, with particular emphasis on governance and development in sub-Saharan

Africa. He is the author of Coping with Crisis in African States and Growing Apart: Politics and Economic Change in Indonesia and Nigeria, as well as numerous journal articles.

With more than 21 years of investment banking and management consulting experience around the globe, Mwiti leads strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and business development for Ernst & Young (EY) across Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan.

He is the Managing Partner for EY-Parthenon in Eastern Africa and the EY
global client service partner for several multinational clients in Africa, and represents EY on various regional forums and industry and professional associations.