Mr. Joel Khathushelo Netshitenzhe
Executive Director of Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, and Commissioner of the National Planning Commission, South Africa
Joining the African National Congress in exile in 1976, Mr. Netshitenzhe served in various capacities with the ANC; as member of the ANC Politico-Military Council, as Deputy Head of the Department of Information and Publicity and as part of the ANC negotiating team. He also was Head of Communications in President Mandela’s office before joining the Government and Communication and Information System as CEO in 1998. He was appointed head of the Policy Coordination and Advisory Services for his government in 2001. Since retirement in 2009, Mr. Netshitenzhe is an independent researcher and Executive Director of the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection. He is also a Member of the National Planning Commission for South Africa, the Advisory Board of the Nelson Mandela Trust and the Board of CEEF Africa (Centre for Education in Economics and Finance). He has a diploma in Political Science from the Institute of Social Sciences in Moscow (1984), a post-graduate diploma in Economics and a Master of Science in Financial Economics from the University of London (1999).