Dr Masonwabe Sokoyi – Board Member

Dr Masonwabe Sokoyi is a distinguished South African development economist, public policy practitioner, and governance specialist with over fifteen years of robust professional experience. His expertise spans local government administration, economic development, public administration, stakeholder engagement, strategic communication, and international cooperation.

He holds a Doctor of Economics from Peking University, China, and a Master of International Public Administration from Tsinghua University, China. His doctoral research critically analysed the restructuring of South African State-Owned Enterprises, focusing particularly on governance reforms, ownership structures, institutional transformation, enterprise performance, operational efficiency, financial sustainability, and developmental impact.

Currently, Dr Sokoyi is the Manager: SALGA Presidency within the Office of the Chief Executive Officer at the South African Local Government Association. In this role, he provides strategic leadership and policy guidance on developmental local government, economic transformation, intergovernmental relations, municipal sustainability, localisation, industrialisation, and international partnerships.

Additionally, he serves as a Non-Executive Director for FASSET and Proudly South African, and is the National Coordinator of the Financial Sector Coalition Campaign at NEDLAC. Dr Sokoyi also holds Honours degrees in Organisational Communication and Media Studies, as well as a National Diploma in Public Relations Management from UNISA.

His core areas of expertise include development economics, State-Owned Enterprise reform, governance frameworks, public policy formulation, local economic development, board oversight, stakeholder engagement strategies, empirical research, strategic planning, and executive-level communication.