The Commission, chaired by Minister Mondli Gungubele consists of respected thinkers in South Africa and is expected to bring about fresh ideas and insight into the long- term plan to advance growth and development in South Africa. The Commissioners collectively have expertise and practical experience in areas such as finance, business, politics, labour, economics, sociology, technology, science, demographics and development. The commissioners are critical advisors to government providing recommendations in the interest of the long- term development of the country. They are the voice of the future representing the long- term aspirations of South Africans.
Commenting on his appointment, Prof Maserumule said that he is both honoured and humbled to serve the country in this capacity. “It gives an opportunity to bring to bear one’s scholarship to the furnace of statecraft, to hopefully contribute in a meaningful way to the country’s attempt to fashion itself as a capable, ethical and developmental state”, Prof Maserumule said.
Prof Maserumule started his career as a lecturer at the now-defunct Vista University before joining the then Technikon Northern Gauteng (TNG) in 1999. He progressed through the academic ranks and was inaugurated as a full professor in Public Affairs in 2018. With more than 20 years of teaching experience in different universities in South Africa, he is remarkable researcher with more than 50 publications to his name. His areas of research interest include, among others, the Historiography, Ontology and Epistemology of Public Administration, Developmental State, Politics of Transition, Pan-African Thought and Philosophy of Governance.
Furthermore, Prof Maseremule is the Chief Editor of the Journal of Public Administration and is a well-known thought-leadership contributor to mainstream media. He undertook various strategic assignments for the country, which among included being part of the team which reviewed a Single Public Service Bill for the Ministry for the Public Service and Administration; did policy research on The Place of State-Owned Enterprises in a Developmental State for the Presidential Review Committee on SOEs. He was also part of the expert reference group for the Presidential Remuneration Review Committee (PRRC) .
Prof Maluleke expressed gratitude for his appointment saying; “I am gobsmacked, utterly stunned to be associated with a team of highly esteemed thinkers in South Africa. As I understand it, our job will be to workshop and originate fresh ideas that will shape our shared future. The NPC is one of the most strategic of teams, whose job is to advice government. I look forward to making my humble contribution to the growth and development of our republic”.
Prof Maluleke is a prominent and internationally-recognised researcher in his field, specialising in religion and politics, as well as black and African theologies. Effective from January 2018, the South African National Research Foundation has awarded him a B1 rating as a researcher - that is, an internationally acclaimed researcher in his field. He is an extremely experienced senior leader with two decades of executive management experience within the higher education sector. Prof Maluleke is also an elected member of the Academy of Science for South Africa.
Over the years, Prof Maluleke has served with distinction at a range of institutions of higher learning. Prior to his position as Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Director at the Centre for Advanced Scholarship, he was the Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor at the University of Pretoria. He also served at the University of Johannesburg where he held the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Internationalisation, Advancement & Student Affairs; at Unisa where he held the positions of Deputy Registrar; Executive Director: Research; Deputy Executive Dean: College of Human Sciences, and Dean: Faculty of Theology. As part of his service to the broader society and as an advocate for science in society, Prof Maluleke is a member of the board of a student-funding NGO called "Get Me to Graduation" and a member of the board of the National Research Foundation of South Africa, as well as the MTN Foundation. He has also served as judge in the MTN National Annual Radio Awards in the years 2013 and 2014. Prof Maluleke is a regular contributor of opinion pieces on various social and political issues in the mainstream media.