Khaya Sithole

Khaya S Sithole, is a chartered accountant, academic, activist, radio broadcaster and writer.

He provides inputs, commentary and analysis on various social, financial and economic issues for a range of publications and clients across the corporate landscape, academia and civil society.

Khaya studied at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal and completed his chartered accountancy articles with the FirstRand Group working in the Retail Banking; Investment Banking; Asset Management and Insurance Divisions of the FirstRand Group. He was appointed as the Executive Assistant to the Chief Financial Officer of OUTsurance SA in 2009.

He has lectured in accounting, tax and finance for the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Wits University and the University of Cape Town (through GetSmarter). He has served as a mentor on the Shanduka Black Umbrellas Incubation Programme which made him responsible for the mentorship of start-up businesses and evaluation of business plans submitted to Shanduka. He also served on the Advisory Panel for Shanduka Black Umbrellas.

Khaya has worked as an editor of various textbooks in Financial Reporting and Taxation. He served as the resident political and financial analyst, writer and talk show host on Kaya FM and Power FM and is a regular contributor on politics and finance for eNCA, Open News and the SABC and writes weekly columns for the Business Day, Moneyweb, the Mail & Guardian and Fin24. In 2016, he headed up the research team that created the Lesedi Education Endowment Fund which was presented to the Cabinet as part of the quest for finding a lasting solution to the university funding issue during the #FeesMustFall crisis.

Khaya served on the boards of JSE-listed Stadio Holdings Limited where he chaired the audit committee; Lefika La Phodiso (The Art Therapy Institute) where he serves as the board chairperson; and on the audit committee of Tshikululu Social Investments NPC and the Financial Sector Transformation Council (FSTC) (as chair of the Board).

He has previously served as a member of Senate at UKZN, provincial chairperson and national board member of ABASA; council member of the SAICA Eastern Region; and chaired the audit committee chair of the Wits University Retirement Fund. Khaya has conducted research and professional exam training programmes for the Office of the Auditor-General of South Africa, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants and the ABSA Banking Group.

Khaya currently serves on the boards of Altvest (Pty) Ltd, the Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals (ABSIP), the Institute for Social Dialogue NPC, MyVote Counts NPC and the Advisory Council of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC). In March 2019 he completed his postgraduate studies at the Said Business School at the University of Oxford, UK and an MSc in Finance and Accounting at Queen Mary University of London in 2022.

He was also awarded the Atlantic Fellowship for Racial Equity by Columbia University and the Nelson Mandela Foundation in 2020.