Indlulamithi SA Scenarios Trust has appointed economist and researcher Xhanti Payi as the new Chairperson of its Board of Trustees, marking a significant new chapter for the organisation as it continues shaping strategic thinking and conversations about South Africa’s future.
Payi succeeds Professor Somadoda Fikeni, who has led the Trust since its establishment in 2017. Fikeni remains a Trustee and will continue working closely with Payi and supporting key stakeholder engagements as Indlulamithi advances its work.
The new Board also welcomes three new Trustees: Kagiso Masela, Thato Tsita and Zimkhitha Peter, whose combined expertise spans financial services, sustainability, investment banking, philanthropy, education and entrepreneurship.
Masela brings more than a decade of experience across financial services, ESG and real estate-linked markets and currently serves as Channel Manager for Sustainability and ESG Solutions at First National Bank. Tsita is an investment banking executive and fund manager with more than 20 years of experience across South African and global markets. Peter brings more than 15 years of senior executive experience across philanthropy, education and entrepreneurship and currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropy SA.
The Board will provide strategic oversight and governance while safeguarding the independence of Indlulamithi’s research and scenario-planning work. It will also guide the organisation through its 2025–2029 strategy, including efforts to support social compacts and collaborative governance.
Payi described his appointment as a privilege at a pivotal moment for South Africa’s democracy. Under his leadership, Indlulamithi will embark on “Conversations on the Journeys to our Future”, a dialogue series informed by its 2035 Scenarios and Barometer.
The programme will include awareness-raising materials, toolkits and workshops aimed at encouraging meaningful engagement and action among stakeholders across different sectors of South African society.
For almost a decade, Indlulamithi has developed scenario-planning tools examining the country’s social and economic trajectory. Its original scenarios – Nayi le Walk, IsBhujwa and Gwara Gwara – explored the drivers of social cohesion and emphasised that economic growth without social cohesion would not deliver a genuinely prosperous future.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the unrest of 2021, Indlulamithi refreshed its scenarios, resulting in the development of its 2035 scenarios: Hadeda Home, Vulture Culture and Weaver Work.
With Payi at the helm and a strengthened Board, Indlulamithi enters its next phase focused on encouraging South Africans to engage with the choices, challenges and opportunities that will shape the country’s future.
