CER welcomes two women lawyers as new non-executive directors
3 June 2022 at 8:51 am
The Board of the Centre for Environmental Rights NPC is pleased to announce the appointment of two experienced and accomplished lawyers, Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh and Kerry Williams, as new non-executive directors to the CER Board.
“We are honoured to welcome Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh and Kerry Williams to the CER Board,” says CER Executive Director, Melissa Fourie. “Both Kaajal and Kerry are leaders in their fields, and bring a wealth of experience in public interest law to the Board. The CER Board is privileged to be the beneficiary of their knowledge, integrity and passion for environmental, social and climate justice in South Africa.”
Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh has over two decades of experience working in human rights and social justice sector in South Africa and beyond. Formerly the Executive Director of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre, she has a deep knowledge and understanding of the Southern African political, economic, and human rights context and is committed to promoting social justice and reducing inequality. Kaajal is currently Director of the Africa Regional Programme for the International Commission of Jurists.
Kerry Williams is an experienced advocate at the Johannesburg Bar and a member of the Pan African Bar Association of South Africa. Prior to joining the bar, she practised as an attorney for over a decade. She was a founding trustee and board member of the Equal Education Law Centre, and served as a board member of the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project during its same-sex marriage campaign.
CER also bids a warm farewell at this time to Prof Bonita Meyersfeld, who has retired after four years’ service as non-executive director on the CER Board.
“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Bonita for her brand of stewardship, unwavering commitment and invaluable contribution in the development of the organisation over her term,” says CER Board Chair Nompi Vilakazi.
The CER Board
As a registered non-profit company, the governance body of the Centre for Environmental Rights NPC is a board of directors comprising of a non-executive Chairperson, five non-executive directors, and the Executive Director. Read more about our Board members and the reasons why they have chosen to serve on our Board.
The CER Board is committed to the highest standards of corporate governance, as guided by the King IV Code of Corporate Governance.
“The Board’s purpose is to provide governance, strategic direction and oversight of our organisation,” says Wandisa Phama, CER Deputy Director. “This includes: what work we do, how deploy funds, how we manage risk and compliance and how we account to our stakeholders. To discharge some of its core duties, the Board has a Finance & Audit Committee that has oversight over the financial performance and systems of control, while the Risk Committee oversees the effective management of risk systems by the organisation.”
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