Who's Who
 |
||||
| Diescho, Joseph (Joe) - Political commentator | ||||
 Joe Diescho is well known as an eloquent political analyst in both Namibia and South Africa.Highly educated (he has three Masters Degrees and two PhDs), Diescho has a high-profile career in South Africa where he has been spokesperson for the University of South Africa and the national lottery. He also played a leading role in the organisation of the UN’s World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2002. He was the presenter of ‘The Big Picture’, a weekly economic and political analysis television programme on SABC 2 in 1997-98. Diescho was the youngest recipient of a PhD in the history of Fort Hare in 1987 after which he studied African Political Economy at Hamburg University in Germany under the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdiest (DAAD) scholarship. He received a Fulbright scholarship to continue his post-graduate studies at Columbia University in New York in 1988. He later taught in the Law Department of City University in New York before returning to southern Africa in the early 1990s. Diescho is the author of more than seven books including two novels set in Namibia – Born of the Sun (Friendship Press, 1988) and Troubled Waters (Gamsberg Macmillan, 1993). He also wrote The Namibian Constitution in Perspective (Gamsberg Macmillan, 1994). In 2002 his booklet, Understanding the New Partnership for Africa's Development, was published by the Namibia Institute for Democracy (NID) and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS). Diescho serves on the board of NID. Since working on the World Summit in Johannesburg, Diescho has operated as an independent consultant speaking at leadership and strategic management seminars. He regularly contributes to political discourse in Namibia through newspaper commentaries and public lectures. Since 2004 he has been the South African in-country facilitator of the Interactive Pan-African Leadership Training Programme under the aegis of the British Council. This Leadership programme runs in 19 African countries. Currently he is an independent executive consultant to Eskom on the African Leadership Development Project. In this capacity he runs a weekly seminar on African Leadership for the senior level leadership of Eskom in South Africa. He is also a lecturer at the Unisa Centre for African Renaissance Studies. He is a lay preacher in the Christian church. |
||||
| Personal: | ||||
| Born on April 10 1955 at Diyogha near Andara in the Kavango region. | ||||
| Education: | ||||
| PhD in Comparative and International Politics, Columbia University, New York, USA. Masters degrees in Politics and Philosophy, Columbia University, New York, USA (late 1980s to early 1990s). Studies in African Political Economy, Hamburg University, German | ||||
| Career: | ||||
| Consultant to Eskom on the African Leadership Development Project since 2003. Executive Director of Public Affairs for the company that prepared South Africa to host the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 (2001-2002). Public Affairs Director of Uthingo Management, the official operator of South Africa’s national lottery (1999-2001). Head of Public Relations and Development, University of South Africa (Unisa) (1994-99). Television presenter on national public television in New York between (1988-91). Professor of International Law at City University, New York (late 1980s to early 1990s). | ||||
| Contact: | ||||
| Not available | ||||
