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Aroop Chatterjee, Research Manager: Wealth Inequality
Aroop Chatterjee leads the research agenda on wealth inequality at the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies. Aroop is currently developing a strategy to bring disparate streams of related research across disciplines and countries under the lens of wealth inequality. He is also focused on using new and existing data to develop wealth distribution in South Africa. Previously he was the senior economist on labour issues at the National Treasury of South Africa and was intimately involved in policymaking and analysis of the labour market, including the Employment Tax Incentive, and the National Minimum Wage. He has an MSc Development Economics with distinction from the School of Oriental and African Studies, a BSc Economics from the University College London. He is also a Chartered Accountant.
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Ujithra Ponniah, Senior Researcher
Ujithra Ponniah, a Senior Researcher at the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS). She works with the ‘Wealth Inequality and Elites’ research stream at SCIS. Her research interests include economic elites, caste, race, and gender in India and South Africa. Her research in India unpacks how a business caste called Agarwals reproduces in Delhi with a focus on the gender question. In South Africa, she has researched property elites (landowners and property developers) involved in the making of a Waterfall City. Currently, she is a Co-PI on an ESRC project titled ‘Transnational Elite Communities and the Reproduction of Inequalities’ in Mumbai, Johannesburg, and London.
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Comfort Molefinyana, Associate Researcher: Wealth Inequality
Comfort Molefinyana is an Associate Researcher on the Wealth Inequality project. She holds a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Previously, she worked as a consultant conducting applied research in the public sector. She has contributed to implementation and impact evaluations including government management systems, public procurement, municipal tariffs, public employment programmes, agriculture, and health. Comfort has co-authored published work in public procurement (BBBEE) and the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG). She has a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree in Politics and Public Policy, and an honours degree in International Relations, both from the University of Cape Town. Her research interests include social and gender policy, inequality, and social protection.
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Asanda Mbhele, Associate Researcher
Asanda Mbhele is an Associate Researcher on the Wealth Inequality project. Previously, she worked as a Quality Assurance Officer at the Human Sciences Research Council. Before that, she was a Researcher at Moses Kotane Institute under the National Development Plan (NDP-2030) project; and Researcher at Wits Health Consortium, respectively. Asanda holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Honours degree in Sociology and Bachelor of Social Sciences in Sociology, all awarded by the University of KwaZulu Natal. Her research interests include inequality, international development, social protection and social justice.
