The Conversation Africa Author. Adjunct Professor, University of the Witwatersrand. Michael Sachs has worked for over twenty-five years in public policy, politics and government in South Africa. He is former head of National Treasury’s budget office. He spent nine years at the national headquarters of the African National Congress, where he coordinated economic policy and led the party’s research agenda. He holds an MSc in Economics from the University of London (SOAS) and a Masters in Public Admin (International Development) from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.