Miss Earth South Africa organization appointed Nompumelelo Maduna as the new Miss Earth South Africa 2021 on 1st September 2021 as she became the official representative of South Africa at Miss Earth 2021. Maduna succeeds Miss Earth South Africa 2020 Lungo Katete.

As the new Earth queen, the 26-year-old Nompumelelo Maduna has pledged to plant more trees, support the #WasteStopsWithMe campaign and to educate young people about their role in the environment. Maduna is a South African marketer who advocates women empowerment. She is the founder of Mpumes Pageant Workshop.

The newly appointed Miss Earth South Africa 2021 Nompumelelo Maduna took to her official social media to reveal her emotions in a post captioned, "Wow I am so overwhelmed with joy and truly honoured to be Miss Earth SA 2021. This means continuing my efforts in contributing to sustainable change in our country. I am grateful for all the lovely messages and well wishes for the journey ahead. Thank you.I encourage you to walk this journey with me. Be the action behind the voice!"

Maduna hails from Rockville, Soweto, Johannesburg. She went to the University of Johannesburg in Johannesburg where she earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing. Not new to the pageantry, Maduna is Miss Earth South Africa 2018 first runner-up, Miss South Africa 2019 Top 5.

In January 2019, she joined Investec in South Africa as a banker. In 2021, she earned her honour’s degree in marketing management from the University of Johannesburg. In May 2021, she became an Investec social media and online engagement specialist.

In the 2020 edition, Lungo Katete represented South Africa at Miss Earth 2020 and placed in the Top 20 at the end of the event finale. She was the winner of the Best Eco-video and advanced directly to Top 20. South Africa is yet to pioneer its win at Miss Earth.