Thokozani Chilenga-Butao

Dr Chilenga-Butao is a lecturer in the Political Studies department at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, where she obtained her PhD in 2019. Her research interests are decentralisation and federalism; governance; public policy and public administration. She has conducted research on education governance, the National Development Plan, social grants policy and the just energy transition in South Africa.

This research has taken place in some of South Africa's national government departments, such as the Department of Basic Education and its provincial education departments; National Treasury and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (now Department of Mineral Resources and Petroleum). Working independently and in collaboration with research institutes and colleagues, Thokozani's research outputs include accredited publications, reports and case studies.

Thokozani currently teaches at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, based on her fields of research. She combines her empirical analysis of governance with a wide-range of theoretical approaches in political studies and public administration. She then marshals this with great flair to teach students about the role, functions and problems in South African governance and public administration, often neglected components of understanding politics. She has helped turn them into relevant and relatable subjects for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Finally, Thokozani's academic citizenship includes serving on various committees within the School of Social Science, University of the Witwatersrand; providing political analysis in South Africa's news and media; and, presentations at invited talks, presentations and seminars within her areas of research.