ABOUT US
OUR VISION AS CAOSA, is a uniform and united Community Advice Office sector in South Africa that is recognized, sustainable and ensures marginalized and vulnerable communities and individuals have easy access to justice, social services and legal support to effectively advance their human rights in South Africa. 1. Mobilising resources for the sector: By ensuring that community advice offices are well resourced, we hope to ensure access to justice in all marginalised communities. This we will do by supporting established, struggling and new CAOs to become sustainable. 2. Strengthening the capacity of CAO sector: By ensuring that the advice office as institutions and the community-based paralegal as practitioners receive the necessary formative, developmental and advanced training, education and capacity building programs that are in direct response to the communities they service. 3. Enabling regulatory measures for the sector to be developed: By ensuring that the sector is accountable to the communities it services, the people who work in the advice office, agencies that fund the sector and support organisations. 4. Enhancing the voice and advocacy of the CAO sector: By ensuring that the cases seen in CAOs become impactful and advance systematic change for the broader communities. CAOSA is investing in knowledge management systems that allow efficient and effective analysis of cases, their impact and consulting with partners to develop an effective advocacy mechanism for each advocacy issue. OUR MEMBERS MEET THE TEAM Tshenolo Tshoaedi Executive Director Sheila Matsondota Operations Manager Ntokozo Dhlamini Programmes Administrator Olerato Morekhure Paralegal Support Intern Ofentse Tomodi Media Content & Comms Officer MEET THE NATIONAL COUNCIL Mr. Zwelibanzi Hlatshwayo President of the National Council Sindiswa Witbooi Eastern Cape – Chairperson Ms. Lerato Moeng Free State – Chairperson Mr. Seth Mnguni – Deputy President (National Council) Gauteng – Chairperson Ms. Phumelele Mathonsi – Secretary (National Council) KwaZulu Natal – Chairperson Mr. Kgoboko Maditsi Limpopo – Chairperson Ms. Sonto Mabanga Mpumalanga – Chairperson Mr. Michael Besent Northern Cape – Chairperson Ms. Tebogo Ncube North West – Chairperson Mr. Eugene Mapotolo Western Cape – Chairperson Ms. Nomboniso Gaya Eastern Cape – Secretary Mr. Dladla Mokeki Free State – Secretary Ms. Tumi Mthombeni Gauteng – Secretary Ms. Cabangani Mtshali KwaZulu Natal – Secretary Ms. Mary Selona Limpopo – Secretary Mr. Telford Mkhutshwa Mpumalanga- Secretary Ms. Lorato Mokatong – Deputy Secretary (National Council) Northern Cape- Secretary Mr. Lesabe Mabale North West – Secretary Mr. Clive Pretorius – Treasurer (National Council) Western Cape – Secretary OUR LEADERSHIP Judge President Dunstan Mlambo Chairperson of CAOSA Judge Mlambo has extensive experience in the sector dating back to 1987. Trained by a paralegal as a newly graduated lawyer he discovered his passion for access to justice very early in his career and he eagerly educated himself on what social justice means. Nobuzwe Mofokeng Deputy Chairperson of CAOSA Nobuzwe is the Deputy Chairperson of the CAOSA Board, a community-based paralegal with over 30 years’ experience in the sector and is the National Council designate to the CAOSA Board. She is the director of the Inter-church Local Development Agency in Uithage in the Eastern Cape. Matseliso Shongwe Chair of the Finance and Audit Matseliso is a Chartered Accountant with almost a decade of experience in auditing at management level. She is passionate about ensuring that an organisation supporting community advice offices has good control strategies and mechanisms in place to ensure that it achieves its set business objectives. Wayne Ncube Board Member Wayne is a lawyer at Lawyers for Human Rights, where he is the head of the Strategic Litigation Programme. As a lawyer, his primary focus is increasing access to justice through litigation or capacitating different types of legal representatives. Zwelibanzi Hlatshwayo Board Member Zwelibanzi is the President of the CAOSA National Council and by virtue of his appointment becomes a de facto member of the board. He is currently the director of the Leandra Community Centre in Mpumalanga. His experience in the sector spans over 20 years. Jacob Matakanye Board Member Jacob is a community-based paralegal and director of the Messina Legal Advice Office in Musina, Limpopo. He is a national council designate onto the board. His experience in the sector spans over 40 years. Ayanda Roji Board Member Ayanda is a General Manager of Research and Knowledge Management at the City of Johannesburg’s Parks and Zoo department. Her passion is rooted in her desire to seek and embrace innovative practices that include the voices and ideas of society’s vulnerable groups to improve and shape the communities in which they live. Nomaswazi Tshabalala Board Member Nomaswazi is the director of the Ficksburg Community Advice Office in the Free State. She is a paralegal with over 15 year’s experience in the sector and she is passionate about women empowerment. Shadrack Olebogeng Lawrence Board Member Shadrack Olebogeng Lawrence (LLB) is the Executive Director of Save The Rural Child Foundation South Africa, which is a member to CAOSA. He heads the Legal department of STRCF-SA legal services centre, specializing in Evictions, family law, Tax Law, Labour Law as well as Human rights law, Mr. Lawrence has almost 20 years’ experience in the paralegal sector working as Community based paralegal. PARTNER WITH US CONTACT US 357 Visagie street, Pretoria Central, Pretoria, 0002 010 745 8975 // 010 746 1699 +27 67 663 1211 info@caosasouthafrica.org.za
This we will do by ensuring meaningful participation in government led policy and/or legislative frame-working for the sector, continuous investment in the current self-regulatory model of the national council and coordinated stakeholder engagement which is consultative in its approach.
