Bright spark: Durban’s first female deputy head wins top award
No stranger to breaking barriers and making history, Phumzile Sibisi is the first black female in the history of eThekwini Electricity unit to hold a deputy head position.
ETHEKWINI Municipality’s first female deputy head of the electricity department, Phumzile Sibisi has bagged a top award at the Association of Municipal Electricity Utilities Presidential Legacy Awards (AMEU).
The Upper Highway resident, and proud mother and wife, is the first black female in the history of the eThekwini Electricity unit to hold a deputy head position.
For her hard work, Sibisi received the Top Performing Woman in Electricity in SA award at this year’s AMEU awards.
This award celebrates the outstanding women in municipal electricity utilities, with a focus on leadership, innovation, service and being a role model to others in the field.
She started her career in the department in 2010 as a candidate engineer. She has worked her way to an executive position in a largely male dominated industry.
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Sibisi said the award doesn’t just celebrate her achievements and leadership, but also honours the Electricity Unit’s female staff across the board.
“A special thank you to all eThekwini Electricity female colleagues from electrical assistants, artisans, technicians, engineers, to senior management. They may not be aware, but I draw my strength from them. I would also like to thank eThekwini Electricity’s executive team, especially Jayshree Pershad, Manju Naidoo and the head, Maxwell Mthembu for their unwavering support and encouragement in my executive position,” said Sibisi.
When asked about her future plans, she hopes to one day be her own boss and impart knowledge and transfer skills from her years of industry experience.
“My legacy is headed towards a direction of growth, knowledge-sharing and the development of future leaders,” she said.
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