Prof. Busani Ngcaweni directs the Centre for Public Policy and African Studies at the Johannesburg Business School, University of Johannesburg. He is an executive leader, scholar, and public sector strategist with more than two decades of experience in institutional reform, organisational leadership, and policy implementation at the highest levels of government. From 2020 to 2025, he served as Director-General and Principal of South Africa’s National School of Government, which he helped transform into a leading management development institution and recognised think tank for public sector reform and civil service professionalisation.
He previously served as Head of Policy and Research in The Presidency and as Chief of Staff to several Deputy Presidents and the current President of South Africa. He has coordinated and supported major national programmes, including the National Minimum Wage, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the National Anti-Poverty Strategy, the National AIDS Response, and the Framework Towards the Professionalisation of the Public Sector. His work focuses on state capability, institutional coherence, economic governance, and development in the Global South.
Ngcaweni has held academic affiliations with the Wits School of Governance, Fudan University, Toronto Metropolitan University, and other international institutions. He is a Fellow of the African Leadership Initiative–Aspen Global Leadership Network and a regular contributor to media platforms in South Africa and Asia. He has edited 16 volumes and published numerous scholarly articles. His most recent monograph is Frontiers of National and Regional Development: Rethinking Governance and Growth in the Global South.