OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW
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The Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) advises President Cyril Ramaphosa with the aim of providing sound advice on economic policy in order to spur sustained, inclusive economic growth, investment and job creation for South Africa.
The Council is a non-statutory and independent body chaired by the President and brings together prominent local and international economists and technical experts drawn from academia, the private sector, labour, community, think tanks and other constituencies.
The Council constitutes expertise in international economics; macroeconomics (including fiscal policy and monetary economics); labour economics; economics of education and the economics of poverty and inequality and urban development. Other areas of insights entail microeconomics with a focus on network industries, regulation and competition, trade, land and agriculture policy energy and climate change.
The Council serves as a forum for in-depth and structured discussions on emerging global and domestic developments, economic and development policies, and to facilitate socialisation and diligent execution thereof.
This operating model is intended to enhance the work being undertaken to build a capable state, as demanded by the National Development Plan. The Council will also be instrumental in building a knowledge base of policy and implementation lessons, best practices and field-tested success stories.
14 January 2025
President Cyril Ramaphosa chaired the inaugural meeting of the newly appointed Presidential Economic Advisory Council for the Seventh Administration today, 14 January 2025, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
President Ramaphosa welcomed the new and returning members of the Council, which was appointed in November 2024, and highlighted the important role that the Council will play as the Government of National Unity looks to reignite economic growth and tackle poverty and inequality.
The meeting reaffirmed the necessity of structural transformation and economic reforms to accelerate economic growth, and discussed forward-looking policy proposals in areas such as green industrial policy, skills development, and macroeconomic policy.
Members of the Council discussed the need to position South Africa for growth in a rapidly changing global environment, in which technological advances in artificial intelligence and the imperative of tackling climate change will lead to structural changes in economies.
A key topic of discussion was South Africa’s role in advancing the global economic policy agenda as it assumes the Presidency of the G20. President Ramaphosa has outlined a set of clear and actionable priorities for the G20 Presidency which include mobilising finance to support a just transition, addressing the unsustainable debt burden on developing countries, strengthening disaster resilience and response, and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
The meeting discussed proposals to advance these priorities, building on the progress made on issues such as international taxation, reform of multilateral development banks, and climate finance.
President Ramaphosa said: “The Presidential Economic Advisory Council will play an important role in providing independent advice as we seek to ensure that our economic policy is informed by sound evidence, by innovation, and by a diversity of views and opinions.”
Members of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council are (in alphabetical order, following the profile of the Deputy Chairperson, Dr Renosi Mokate):
Dr Renosi Mokate (Deputy Chairperson): Dr Mokate served as the first deputy chair of PEAC. Presently, she occupies the position of Executive Chair of Concentric Alliance and Chair of the Government Employees Pension Fund.
Professor Antonio Andreoni is Professor of Development Economics at the Department of Economics of SOAS University of London and Co-Director of the Centre for Sustainable Structural Transformation (CSST). As co-Director of CSST Antonio focuses on four inter-linked research areas – energy transition, mineral resources, reorganisation of the international supply chain, and construction of new infrastructure.
Prof Haroon Bhorat is Professor of Economics and Director of the Development Policy Research Unit at the University of Cape Town. His research interests cover labour economics, poverty and income distribution.
Dr Kenneth Creamer is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Economics and Finance at Wits University. His teaching and research focuses on macroeconomics, growth and the just energy transition. Dr Creamer has written various academic papers and popular articles on economic and development policy in South Africa.
Prof Esther Duflo is the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics in the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In her research, she seeks to understand the economic lives of the poor, with the aim to help design and evaluate social policies. Prof Duflo has received numerous academic honours and prizes including the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (with co-Laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer).
Prof Vusi Gumede is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Development and Business Sciences at the University of Mpumalanga. For 11 years, he held various senior government positions before joining academia.
Prof Alan Hirsch is Emeritus Professor at The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at UCT and founding director of the School, 2011 - 2019.
Ms Mamokete Lijane is the Chair at Economic Research South Africa (ERSA) and a Strategist in Global Markets at Standard Bank CIB, with 22 years’ experience as an analyst in financial markets. She has a deep interest in the intersection between public policy, economics, and financial markets.
Ms Trudi Makhaya is the Senior Advisor at the Boston Consulting Group. She served as economic advisor to President Cyril Ramaphosa from 2018 to 2023, during which time she also served as South Africa’s G20 Sherpa. Before taking up this role she led Makhaya Advisory, a boutique consulting firm with a focus on helping business navigate economic policy, including competition policy.
Prof Mariana Mazzucato is Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London (UCL), where she is Founding Director of the Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose (IIPP). She is the author of three highly acclaimed books including the newly released Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism. She advises policy makers around the world on innovation-led, inclusive and sustainable growth, including as Chair of the WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All.
Mr Isaah Mhlanga is the Chief Economist and Head of Global Markets Research for Rand Merchant Bank (RMB). He leads a team of economists, analysts and strategists covering macroeconomics, fixed income, currencies, commodities and credit across South Africa and several key African countries to serve the bank and its institutional and corporate clients.
Mr Kuben Naidoo was until recently a Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee. He is the Head of Corporate Payment Channels at Investec.
Dr Zeph Nhleko is the Chief Economist of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), where he coordinates corporate strategy, knowledge management, research and economics. He began his career as an economist at the South African Reserve Bank.
Prof Dani Rodrik is Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at the Harvard Kennedy School. He has published widely in the areas of economic development, international economics, and political economy. His current research focuses on employment and economic growth, in both developing and advanced economies.
Mr Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa and the author of Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity, and Agriculture. He is a member of the Council of Statistics of South Africa (Stats SA) and a Commissioner at the International Trade Commission of South Africa (ITAC).
Dr Vera Songwe is a non-resident senior fellow in the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution. She is a former Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
Prof Fiona Tregenna holds the DST/NRF South African Research Chair in Industrial Development, and is a Professor of Economics at the University of Johannesburg. Her primary research interest is in issues of structural change, deindustrialisation and industrial development.
Professor Imraan Valodia , an Economist, is Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, and Director of the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits). His research interests include inequality, gender, competition policy and industrial development, and employment in developing countries. Professor Valodia is a part-time member of the Competition Tribunal in South Africa. He is also a Commissioner of the National Minimum Wage Commission.
Prof Ingrid Woolard is Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences and Professor of Economics at Stellenbosch University. Prof Woolard’s areas of research interest include the measurement of poverty and inequality, unemployment, social protection and fiscal policy.
President Ramaphosa has expressed his appreciation to the members of the Council for their willingness to contribute to South Africa’s economic development with their strategic insight and counsel.
Media enquiries:
Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President – media@presidency.gov.za
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