Bridgette is the only member of the commission from the Eastern Cape.

Port Elizabeth businesswoman and consultant lecturer Bridgette Gasa is the only member from the Eastern Cape, and the youngest woman, to have been appointed to the National Planning Commission in the Presidency.



President Jacob Zuma announced the team last week, which will be chaired by National Planning Commission Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel, with Cyril Ramaphosa as his deputy.



Altogether, 24 commissioners will be tasked with producing a national development plan and development vision statement for the country, including issues affecting long-term development, such as water, food security, infrastructure planning and the economy.



Gasa, an expert in project management and currently studying towards her PhD in construction management, will be meeting the other members of the commission on Monday and Tuesday. She said she had received her letter of appointment but would not know the specifics until next week's meetings.



The 33-year-old has come a long way since she enrolled as a first-year architecture student in 1994. Speaking hardly any English, KwaZulu-Natal-born Gasa worked hard during the school term and also managed to secure a holiday job at an architectural firm.



"I was in matric when our school building burnt down back in KwaZulu-Natal. The Education Department had hired a team of architects to put up a new building and they were on site regularly. One day I found some architectural plans lying on the ground, so I took them to the container they were working from.



"The chief architect happened to be there that day and he was ecstatic when I brought the plans. Back then they did not have the software they have today. Everything was drawn out, so plans were valuable. He was so happy I had brought them back that he explained the plans to me and told me a little about the job," she said.



Having had no career guidance and still undecided on what to study, Gasa applied to study for a Bachelor of Building Arts at the then-University of Port Elizabeth.



The same chief architect who had explained the job to her in matric also gave her a holiday job, where she learnt the ropes.



"I only spoke Zulu back then, so this really helped my English and taught me more about the profession and about teamwork."



After graduating in 1997, Gasa joined an architectural firm in KwaZulu-Natal.



While working there she also completed a post-graduate diploma in project management, which she passed cum laude.



The Public Works Department then sponsored her to study further and she completed a certificate in project management in the public sector and a master's degree in project management.



Gasa was then offered a job by Public Works, which took her from Port Elizabeth to Polokwane and Pretoria.



Her career has taken her through several positions, including one with the Coega Development Corporation, and she also served as African region president of the Chartered Institute of Building - its first woman chief.



Gasa said she had decided to settle in Port Elizabeth, where she lives in Bluewater Bay, because she did not enjoy the rat race of Gauteng. She is a part- time lecturer at NMMU.