The Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) welcomes the appointment of Dr Natalie Skeepers, a governance, risk, compliance specialist and safety engineer, and Ms. Moipone Malefane, an award-winning journalist with over 18 years of experience, as new members of its board.
Dr Skeepers
Moipane Malefane
Dr Skeepers and Ms. Malefane were both appointed following a recommendation by the National Assembly, and subsequent interviews by the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies. Both members were officially sworn into office and took their oath on 26 November 2025 as per Section 4 (5) of the MDDA Act.
The MDDA is a statutory development agency, established in 2003, in accordance with the MDDA Act 14 of 2002. It was created as a partnership between the South African Government and the commercial print and broadcasting sectors. The agency’s mandate is to help create an enabling environment for media development and diversity that is conducive to public discourse and which reflects the needs and aspirations of all South Africans to redress exclusion and marginalisation of disadvantaged communities and persons from access to the media and the media industry; and to promote media development and diversity by providing support primarily to community and small commercial media projects.
In line with Section 4(4) of the MDDA Act, Dr Skeepers and Ms. Malefane’s appointments provide strong and representative leadership of a broad cross-section of South Africa’s population.
Dr Skeepers holds a PhD in Engineering Management from the University of Johannesburg. She is an experienced executive with several years in corporate governance, risk, safety and compliance with an excellent understanding of board governance in terms of King IV principles and relevant legislation.
Malefane is an award-winning journalist with over 18 years of experience in top media publications, specialising in political journalism, communications, and stakeholder relations. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications and is the founder and editor-in-chief of Vutivi Business News, a digital platform dedicated to empowering small businesses through informative reporting.
Chairperson of the MDDA board, Prof. Hlengani Mathebula, welcomed the new appointments stating, “We are delighted to welcome Dr Skeepers and Ms. Malefane to the MDDA board. Dr Skeepers brings valuable governance expertise that will strengthen our fiduciary responsibilities, while Ms. Malefane offers vital experience and representation from the media and journalism sector ensuring our Board is equipped with current industry insights and developments”
The appointment of Dr Skeepers and Ms. Malefane brings the total number of members to eight, further enabling the Board to meet quorum requirements, which are defined in Section 10(5) of the MDDA Act as a majority of members. This guarantees that decisions are made with proper representation and oversight.
For more information and/or interviews, please contact: The MDDA Communications unit, e-mail: az.gro.addm@alelubaya / 073 756 8461 or
az.gro.addm@teragram / 082 785 6071
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