Research network

Research teams

Marondera University of Agricultural Science and Technology

The Marondera University of Agricultural Science and Technology in Zimbabwe and Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Malawi are spearheading a project titled “Untangling the Social Reproduction Question in the Context of Green Energy and Carbon Markets Rise: Re-imagining Just Transition in Southern Africa,” focusing on lithium mining in Malawi and Zimbabwe. The team includes Dr. George T. Mudimu, Dr. Loveness Msofi, Dr. Sandra Bhatasara, Dr. Ruth Magreta.

George T. Mudimu

Dr. George T. Mudimu is a Research Fellow at the Climate Change and Food Security Institute at Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology in Zimbabwe. He holds a PhD in Rural Development and Management. He holds expertise in the areas of social reproduction, land and labor dynamics, and the politics of climate change.

Loveness Msofi

Dr. Loveness Msofi is a lecturer at the Faculty of Development Studies at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Malawi. She holds a PhD in Land and Agrarian Studies, she holds expertise in the areas of social reproduction, agriculture, gender, and livelihoods.

Sandra Bhatasara

Dr. Sandra Bhatasara is a sociologist and anthropologist with a PhD in Sociology and Anthropology. She is currently a Research Affiliate at the African Institute of Environmental Law. Dr. Bhatasara’s expertise include climate change, gender studies, feminist theory, and intersectionality.

Ruth Magreta

Dr. Ruth Magreta is the Deputy Director of the Africa Centre of Excellence in Agricultural Policy Analysis at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Malawi. She holds a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics, and expertise in climate change on livelihoods and agriculture.

Eduardo Mondlane Universit

The Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique is conducting a project titled “Socio-economic Implications of Decarbonisation and Digitalisation: The Case of Coal Mining in Mozambique District of Moatize” This research will investigate the economic impacts of coal mining on local communities. The research team includes Dr. Teles Huo, Moisés Siúta, Dr. Matias Farahane, Dr. Fernando Lichucha, Constantino Pedro Marrengula, Carolina Pereira.

Teles Huo

Dr. Teles Huo is the Dean of the Faculty of Economics at Eduardo Mondlane University and holds a PhD in Economics. He is a social sector analyst with extensive research experience in Mozambique, particularly focusing on the relationships between economic growth, capital stock, employment, and energy consumption. His work has also explored the socio-economic impacts of coal mining in Tete, as well as comparative international analyses of the extractive industry's contributions to national development. Dr. Huo’s expertise lies in understanding how economic policies and industries influence development in Mozambique, contributing valuable insights into the country’s economic future.

 Moisés Siúta

Moisés Siúta is a PhD candidate in Economics at the School of Economics, University of Cape Town, through a co-tutored program supported by Eduardo Mondlane University. His research focuses on social protection and poverty, with his current PhD work examining the links between financial inclusion and economic inequality in Mozambique. Alongside his research, he teaches undergraduate courses on economic development and research methods at Eduardo Mondlane University’s Faculty of Economics. Moisés is also a researcher at the Institute for Social and Economic Studies (IESE), where he contributes to key discussions on Mozambique’s socio-economic challenges.

Matias Farahane

Dr. Matias Farahane is an Associate Professor of Economics and an experienced data analyst. He has extensive experience in teaching and research across development economics and macroeconomics. His published work spans agricultural economics, trade, economic growth, and determinants of capital structure in Mozambique’s non-financial firms. Dr. Farahane’s research explores the intersections of foreign aid, economic growth, and structural transformation in Mozambique, offering critical insights into the country’s development trajectory.

Fernando Lichucha

Dr. Fernando Lichucha is a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics at Eduardo Mondlane University, where he has over 30 years of experience in teaching and supervising students. He holds a PhD in Economics and a Master’s degree in Computer Science, specializing in digitalization. His research interests span finance, poverty, and inequality, and he is currently the Principal Investigator (PI) of the @EQUAL project, which explores the impact of inequality on growth, human development, and governance in Mozambique. His other work includes programming distributed systems and analyzing the implications of the oil and gas industry on human capital formation in Mozambique.

 Constantino Pedro Marrengula

Constantino Pedro Marrengula is currently pursuing a PhD in Economics at Eduardo Mondlane University and holds a Master’s degree in Economics. As a private sector development specialist, his research explores the determinants of private sector growth in Mozambique, with a focus on entrepreneurship education, industrialization dilemmas, and public policy. He has published on foreign direct investment, income distribution, and poverty dynamics in Mozambique. Constantino’s work contributes to understanding how Mozambique can foster sustainable economic development through effective public policy and private sector growth.

Carolina Pereira

Carolina Pereira is a Gender Specialist with over 15 years of experience promoting gender equality and women’s rights in Mozambique. She holds a master’s degree in economics and management from the Catholic University of Mozambique and is currently pursuing a PhD in Management, specializing in Human Resources Management and Organizational Behaviour. Carolina has led numerous initiatives focused on gender policy analysis, mainstreaming, and advocacy, helping organizations integrate gender perspectives into their programs. Her work has significantly advanced gender equity in both policy and practice in Mozambique.

 University of the Witwatersrand and University of Johannesburg

The University of the Witwatersrand and University of Johannesburg in South Africa will be conducting research on “Decarbonization, Digitalization, and Development in South Africa: State, Capital, and Labour Strategies in Steel, Energy, and Logistics.” The research team includes Prof Bridget Kenny, Prof Sam Ashman, Dr. Ben Scully, Itumeleng Mokoena, Dinga Sikwebu, Dr Dineo Skosana, and Prof Ben Fine.

Prof Bridget Kenny

Bridget Kenny is a Professor of Sociology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She works on labour, gender, race, consumption and urban space, with specific focus on service work, precarious employment, and political subjectivity in South Africa. Her books include Retail Worker Politics, Race and Consumption in South Africa: Shelved in the Service Economy(Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) and the co-edited Wal-Mart in the Global South (University of Texas Press, 2018). She serves on the editorial boards of African Studies, Work in the Global Economy and the Global Labour Journal. She is the past President and Secretary of Research Committee 44-Labour Movements of the International Sociological Association (2014-2023).

Prof Sam Ashman

Sam Ashman is Associate Professor in the School of Economics at the University of Johannesburg. She has published widely on a variety of dimensions of South Africa's evolving political economy, including the impact of financialization on the Minerals-Energy Complex. She is currently researching responses to the climate crisis by companies within South Africa's economic core, and what this means (and does not mean) for structural change and broader socio-economic development.

Ben Scully

Dr Ben Scully is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand. His research interests include labour, Unemployment, Livelihoods, Social Welfare. His is the lead investigator on a collaborative project funded by the International Centre for Development and Decent Work (Germany) titled “Rural-Urban Linkages in Comparative Perspective: Labour and Land in Ghana and South Africa”.

Itumeleng Mokoena

Itumeleng is an economist at DNA in the Trade, Industrial Policy, and Regional Integration practice. Itumeleng has contributed and advised on complex industrial policy and economic development matters in various sectors, including financial services, manufacturing, and government. Prior to joining DNA, Itumeleng worked as an Economist at Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) and as an Intern at Genesis Analytics.

University of Zambia

The University of Zambia will lead the project titled “Decarbonization and Labour Market Transitions in Zambia’s Copperbelt,” focusing on the impact of decarbonization on one of Zambia’s most economically significant regions and the resulting labour market transitions. The research team includes Dr. Lubinda Habazoka, Dr. Bupe Simuchimba, and Dr. Bupe Getrude Mwanza.

Dr Lubinda Habazoka

Dr. Lubinda Habazoka is the Director at the University of Zambia Graduate School of Business and holds a PhD in Economics from Rostov State Economics University. His areas of expertise include economics, green jobs, youth empowerment, and waste management. He is a former President of the Economics Association of Zambia and has led various high-profile projects, including those with the World Bank. Dr. Habazoka is a prolific author and a regular commentator in the media on economic issues affecting Zambia. His recent publications include a benchmarking study of Zambia’s manufacturing finance and research on the impact of environmental factors on the performance of insurance brokers in Zambia.

Dr Bupe Simuchimba

Dr. Bupe Simuchimba is an Economics Lecturer with a PhD in Economics, specializing in energy, labor, natural resources, and gender. She is an expert in Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models and Social Accounting Matrix (SAM). Dr. Simuchimba has published extensively on women’s labor force participation and rural water access in Zambia. Her recent work focuses on the informal sector and its role in the Zambian economy.

Dr Bupe Getrude Mwanza

Dr. Bupe Getrude Mwanza is an Associate Director and Senior Lecturer at the University of Zambia with a PhD in Engineering Management. She specializes in waste management, operations, and manufacturing systems and has received multiple awards for her work. As a mentor for women in STEM, Dr. Mwanza chairs Zambia’s Industrial Engineering Chapter and represents the International Solid Waste Management Association of Women (ISWMAW). Her recent research includes benchmarking Zambia’s manufacturing finance systems against those of newly industrialized countries.

IndustriALL Global Union

IndustriALL Global Union will be conducting research on “Fighting Back Labour Fragmentation in the Face of Capital vis a vis the Just Transition and Feminist Eco socialism” which will investigate the impacts of multinational corporations in the mining sector, explores the consequences for workers in in Zambia and Zimbabwe and explore feminist eco-socialist approaches to achieving a just transition in Tanzania. The research team includes Hameda Deedat, Elijah Chiwota, Emmanuel Adjei Danso, Rangarirai Machemedze, Dr. Martin Kaggwa.

Hameda Deedat

Hameda Deedat is the Acting Executive Director and Senior Researcher at the National Labour and Economic Development Institute (NALEDI), holding both a BSoc Sci and BSoc Sci (Hons) from the University of Cape Town. With 30 years of research experience, her expertise spans climate change, the Just Transition, mining, renewable energy, electricity, ESKOM and privatization, agroecology, food sovereignty, water and sanitation, BRICS, 4IR, and the future of work. Hameda is a recognized gender specialist, having worked on the gender dimensions of water, collective bargaining, the formalization of the informal economy, and gender-based violence. She has also contributed to union case studies on gender, including research on SACTWU and SACCAWU.

Elijah Chiwota

Elijah Chiwota is a Communications and Research Officer at the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Office of IndustriALL Global Union. He is a seasoned media specialist and labor researcher, and previously served as the Managing Editor of the South African Labour Bulletin (SALB). Elijah holds a BA Honours in History from the University of Zimbabwe and a Master's in Journalism and Media Studies from Rhodes University. His work in labor journalism has earned him recognition, with numerous articles published in the South African Labour Bulletin, accessible through the SALB’s digital platform.

Emmanuel Adjei Danso

Emmanuel Adjei Danso is a Project Coordinator for IndustriALL Sub-Saharan Africa, specializing in development policy formulation with a focus on minimum wage setting, labor market reforms, income redistribution policies, energy transitions, and mining sector reforms. Emmanuel holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and an MPhil in Development Studies, both from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. His work supports unions in collective bargaining, gender mainstreaming, and sectoral projects, particularly in mining and energy. He has also published research on income redistribution, with a recent journal article on policy reforms.

Rangarirai Machemedze

Rangarirai Machemedze holds a Master of Arts in Globalization and Governance from the University of Hull, UK, and has over 25 years of experience in trade and development. He coordinates the Southern and Eastern African Trade Information's activities and focuses on trade, regional integration, WTO agreements, and economic partnerships. Rangarirai has also worked extensively on capacity-building for civil society organizations on trade-related matters. At the Training and Research Support Centre, he was the principal investigator on a project analyzing the intersection of climate-related and occupational health risks in Zimbabwe's informal settlements.

Martin Kaggwa

Dr. Martin Kaggwa is the Executive Research Director at SATRI and an expert in economics, technology management, and development policy modeling. He holds a PhD in Technology Management from the University of Pretoria, a Master’s in Economics from the University of the Witwatersrand, and a Bachelor of Science in Economics. With over 15 years of experience in teaching and applied research, Martin specializes in policy formalization and modeling to inform policy outcomes and improvements. He has published extensively, contributing scholarly articles, book chapters, policy briefs, and technical reports across various platforms.

African Leadership Centre for Development Justice

The African Leadership Centre for Development Justice in partnership with University of Nairobi, Machakos University, Evidence Based Solutions (EDS) and Vhaeya Consultancy will explore “Decarbonization and Structural Transformation in Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia: Balancing Growth, Equity, Employment, and Environmental Sustainability Through Hydro-Electric Power Generation”. The research team includes Marther Wanjiru Ngigi, Dr. James Musonda, Paliani Chinguwo, Godfrey Mtindi, Prof. Patrick Bond, Dr. Samuel Ngigi.

Marther Wanjiru Ngigi

Dr. Marther Wanjiru Ngigi is an Agricultural Economist and Senior Lecturer at Machakos University in Kenya. She earned her PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Bonn, Germany, in 2017. Her research spans structural transformation, the adoption of renewable energy in agriculture, climate change adaptation, and resilience, with a focus on social aspects and gender, particularly women and youth. Marther has secured numerous research grants, including projects on youth participation in food systems transformation. Her latest article, “Access to Climate Information Services and Climate-Smart Agriculture in Kenya: A Gender-Based Analysis,” was published in Climatic Change.

James Musonda

Dr. James Musonda holds a PhD in Politics and Social Sciences from the University of Liege, Belgium, and is a Senior Researcher in Energy at the Institute for Economic Justice in South Africa. He specializes in mining and the Just Transition, focusing on labor, gender, family dynamics, debt, safety, structural transformation, decent work, and sustainable livelihoods across Zambia, South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya. His recent work, “Double Precarisation of Labour and Social Reproduction: Zambian Mineworkers’ Experience of Electricity Pricing,” reflects his deep engagement with precarious labor conditions. In 2021, he received the Journal of Southern Africa's Terence Ranger Award for the best article by a first-time author.

Paliani Chinguwo

Dr. Paliani Chinguwo holds a PhD in Industrial Sociology from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa (2023). He is currently the Country Field Work Supervisor for Malawi at Evidence-Based Solutions (EBS). His research focuses on industrial relations, decent work, public health, and social inclusivity. His most recent publication, “Implications of Task Shifting on Power Relations in Healthcare: The Case of Clinical Officers at Public Hospitals in Malawi,” was published in Medical Humanities in July 2024. Paliani is particularly interested in how labor practices impact healthcare systems and public health outcomes.

Godfrey Mtindi

Godfrey Mtindi is an international development professional with extensive experience in program management in Africa. His expertise includes child-centered community development, good governance, SDG implementation, the Decent Work Agenda, petroleum and gas for development, and Disaster Risk Management. He has worked as a Regional Programme Officer and Consultant for the Danish Trade Union Agency and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, overseeing projects in Ghana, Uganda, Mozambique, and across SADC and East Africa. Currently, Godfrey focuses on organizational capacity-building and international advocacy, particularly regarding the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Just Transition, and good governance.

Patrick Bond

Patrick Bond is a political economist and political ecologist with a longstanding commitment to social justice and climate activism. Born in Ireland and raised in the U.S., he has lived in Zimbabwe and South Africa since 1989. Patrick is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg and the Director of the Centre for Social Change. He has authored or edited several books and numerous articles on African political economy and climate change. His work emphasizes the connections between resource depletion and socio-economic struggles, and he is deeply engaged with labor, environment, and civil society organizations in these efforts.

Samuel Ngigi

Dr. Samuel Ngigi is a development scholar, researcher, and consultant, currently serving as the Executive Director of the African Leadership Centre for Development Justice and a Research Fellow at the Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi. He holds a PhD in Development Studies and specializes in labor issues and development planning. His recent projects include contributing to Kenya's National Green Jobs Strategy and conducting a baseline survey for climate resilience in Marsabit County. Samuel’s research focuses on sustainable development, green jobs, and labor strategies in response to climate change.