ABER Appoints South Africa’s Queen Nosipho Mthembu Director For Blue Sovereignty
The Africa Blue Economy Roundtable (ABER), also known as The Blue Council Africa, has appointed Her Royal Highness Queen Nosipho Mthembu of Durban, South Africa, as Director for Blue Sovereignty and Traditional Ocean Governance.
Mthembu will also serve as Deputy Vice Chairperson of the ABER Women Forum, with the appointments taking immediate effect.
The appointment was conveyed in a letter signed by ABER Convener and Chairman, Dr Piriye Kiyaramo.
Queen Mthembu is a royal diplomat and Pan-African economic stateswoman. She serves as National Coordinator of the African Royal Traditional Leadership Council (ARTLC), Deputy Director of Africa Royal Kingdoms for International Cooperation and Head of Protocol and Diplomacy at the State of the African Diaspora (SOAD).
She is also a Partner of the Pan-African Parliament and Minister of Mining and Blue Economy in the Alkebulan Hieratic Government.
The appointment is expected to strengthen the participation of traditional institutions in Africa’s blue economy development, particularly in coastal resource management, indigenous marine conservation and community-based investments.
ABER said the directorate was established to address the limited integration of traditional leadership structures into formal ocean governance, despite their longstanding roles in managing customary coastal lands, sacred marine sites and indigenous knowledge systems.
The directorate will work towards integrating traditional governance systems into national and continental blue economy policies, in alignment with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Africa Blue Economy Strategy.
It will also lead efforts to develop a continental Charter on Traditional Marine Stewardship, aimed at recognising indigenous knowledge, community interests and heritage conservation in sustainable blue economy investments.
Another priority is to promote the endorsement of blue economy initiatives by traditional rulers to strengthen community trust, encourage responsible investment and improve local participation in maritime development.
The directorate is also expected to promote community-based projects that translate heritage conservation into economic opportunities for women and young people in fisheries, aquaculture, marine tourism and blue trade.
In her additional role at the ABER Women Forum, Queen Mthembu will support efforts to mobilise queens and women traditional leaders for inclusive ocean governance.
She will also help advance women’s participation in maritime logistics, fisheries and blue trade.
Queen Mthembu will work directly with the Office of the Convener and is expected to uphold ABER’s principles of diligence, integrity, transparency and professionalism.
The appointment is anchored on the council’s three-point framework of Dialogue, Deal-making and Delivery.
The management and Board of Trustees of the BRACED Tourism Promotion and Development Initiative (BTPDI), which sponsors ABER, welcomed the appointment.
They expressed confidence that Queen Mthembu would contribute to advancing a secure, inclusive, climate-resilient and investment-ready blue economy for Africa and the Diaspora.
