Ntombi (Ntombekhaya) Manyika is a project manager with almost two decades of experience in the construction industry. Her focus is on energy efficiency, waste management and green buildings as ways to fight against global climate change.

“No matter the size, every company and household needs alternative ways to keep the lights on and mitigate carbon emissions”

Manyika first became aware of energy’s impact on people’s health and comfort when she started designing and building green buildings.

The BTech Quantity Surveyor describes her youth: “I grew up in a small town – Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape – where the weather is always extreme. If it’s cold, it becomes frigid; when it’s hot, it becomes scorching; when it rains, it floods.”

Her large family lived in an extremely small house during her childhood, and everyone suffered from allergies and skin problems.

“I got to thinking that these allergies had a lot to do with the lack of space and the town’s extreme climate.”

She adds that the moment she discovered that her childhood thinking was indeed correct – energy access directly impacts health – that’s when, “I really appreciated what a difference energy access could make to people’s lives.”

When she started her company, she wanted to create an environment where people and the planet could thrive without harm.

“So, we recycle tyres to manufacture roof slate for roof coverings.”

She believes in the maxim ‘green is the new gold’, which forms the company’s slogan, ‘we build clean, we build green.’

“The green economy is defined as low-carbon, resource-efficient and socially inclusive. It can focus on sectors like forestry, farming, mining, fishing, health and many others.

“Still, that focus is on creating wealth without disturbing the environment or causing harm to the health of people. After all, a healthy mind stimulates growth.”

A mother to two daughters she describes as “beautifully talented”, Manyika is passionate about the growth and development of young professionals. As such, she is a certified coach with COMENSA, the non-statutory professional body for coaching and mentoring in South Africa, and is currently working on doing SMME mentorship as a service, to add to her qualification completed through the Yalusa coach training programme.

For her, Africa’s biggest challenge is the deprivation and missed economic opportunity caused by pollution, environmental damage and drudgery.

“Compounding these challenges is Africa’s vulnerability to climate change which means that traditional pathways to increasing energy supply, based on the burning of fossil fuels, will become increasingly unviable.”

She adds that the continent should focus on natural ways of sourcing energy, such as renewable energy sources including wind and solar. She thinks the most notable policy change any African country could make would be to address access to affordable power to stimulate economic growth.

Her message to an international audience is that the green economy, defined as low carbon, resource efficient and social inclusive, is focused on sectors like forestry, farming, mining, fishing, and health, which “are sectors that create the wealth we need but with sustainability top of mind.”

Manyika points out that energy efficiency principles and greening buildings aren’t only for Fortune 500 companies.

This is why her work speaks to solutions that people desperately need, especially in the times we are living in.

“No matter the size, every company and household need alternative ways to keep the lights on and mitigate carbon emissions. The environment needs preserving as we face climate change, and increased pollution is causing serious health issues.”

She believes making homes green addresses the challenge of climate change by mitigating the heat a standard building emits into the atmosphere.

On a macro scale, it can help address individuals’ health.

“Studies show how air and water pollution cause so many diseases, and people are developing allergic reactions as global warming increases.”

Her motto in life is “we learn till we die”, motivated by a quote by South African motivational speaker Antony Jennings who said: “I have always felt that the minute I stop growing is the minute I start dying.”

True to her motto, Manyika participated in the 2022 EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiency) training hosted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA).