To Zimbili Sibiya, leaders must be able to take charge of themselves before they can lead others. This attitude is seeing her thrive as research coordinator of the ACEWATER-III initiative, run by Stellenbosch University (SU) International's Centre for Collaboration in Africa (CCA).
ACEWATER-III was launched in Nairobi, Kenya, in April 2024. It involves the CCA working alongside 20 partner institutions in the AUDA-NEPAD Network of Water Centres of Excellence* to strengthen transboundary water resource management across Africa. This is being done through research, capacity development, short-term mobility opportunities, skills exchanges, and engagement with policymakers. The partners each undertake their own projects in their respective regions' river basin organisations.
Keeping projects relevant and responsive
As research coordinator, Sibiya ensures that all partners' projects align with the ACEWATER-III objectives and priorities. “Each partner is responsible for doing research that promotes integrated transboundary water resource management," she explains. “The research must also entail an element of training and should aim to contribute to policy by engaging policymakers and key decision-makers in their regions or countries.
“To date, each partner has had to submit a research proposal, and my job was to review the proposals for relevance and to ensure that there is no duplication of work, as some of the partners would be working in the same river basin."
Sibiya was invited to join the project by Dr Nico Elema, director of the CCA and the leader of ACEWATER-III. She had worked with him as a research assistant on two water-related projects before. “I said yes because research that serves humanity excites me," she says. “The water sector is doing a lot of important work in this regard. The highlight for me was that the project would be conducted on the African continent."
Pursuing maximum impact, actual change
Having obtained a BSc in Forest Science and Natural Resource Management and an MSc in Forest and Wood Science, both at SU, Sibiya was also intrigued by the similarities between the water and forestry sectors. “The sectors are dealing with similar climate change and management issues, and we need forests for the water sector to thrive. I was curious to see how we can match the two sectors and integrate our activities to ensure that the work done in this project has maximum impact," she says.
“What I hope to do through my involvement in the project is to amplify its impact in society, not just through publications, but also through storytelling and social media," Sibiya adds. “I would like to ensure that the science ultimately translates into actual change."
She is currently working towards her PhD while serving as part-time assistant resident head of Academia student residence. Always on the go, she also offers public speaking training, encouraging others to lead with integrity and be truthful and accountable in everything they do, even when nobody is watching. “As a leader, if you treat others with integrity, you won't have to do much to see that returned to you," she says.
* The AUDA-NEPAD Network of Water Centres of Excellence is a network of higher education and research institutions that conduct high-end scientific research and capacity development in the water and related sectors across Africa. Member institutions are from South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, Mauritius, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso and Senegal. The body received its mandate in 2005 from the African Union through the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) and the African Ministers' Council on Science and Technology (AMCOST).
