Wits School of Economics and Finance (SEF) celebrates winning students
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Wits SEF has a proud tradition of producing winners in the Nedbank and Old Mutual Budget Speech Competition and this year was no different.
Our postgraduate students made a clean sweep of their section with first place going to Adriano Manferdini, second place to Tšhegofatšo Matloga and third place to Shuaib Mahomed. Our undergraduate students also won awards with Angelina Erasmus placing second and Nomfundo Mfeka placing third in their section.
The five postgraduate finalists. Left to right front row: Tšhegofatšo Matloga, Mandisa Ncoba, and Mogau Marutla. Left to right back row: Adriano Manferdini and Shuaib Mahomed.
Dr Lyndal Keeton and Nimisha Naik coordinate the budget process at SEF and prepared the students for the finals in the weeks leading up to February. Dr Keeton said “we are extremely proud of our students who gave a lot of thought to their topics and obviously conducted their interviews with confidence”. Ms Naik added that all the students worked really hard to prepare for the competition and even getting to the finals was “something they can all be extremely proud of”.
This distinguished competition is the only one of its kind worldwide, providing university students with a rare opportunity to directly engage with the Minister of Finance on the day of the Budget Speech. The contest features two categories—undergraduate and postgraduate—where participants write essays tackling complex and relevant topics set by Nedbank and Old Mutual. The 2024 competition challenged undergraduate students to explore the intricacies of managing public debt in South Africa and other developing countries, while postgraduate students had to analyse the political economy of a coalition government and the consequences for economic growth.
From submissions across South Africa’s tertiary institutions, twenty finalists are selected: ten in each category. Wits students secured four out of ten positions in the undergraduate category: Amir Dildar, Angelina Erasmus, Audrey Manyangeni, and Nomfundo Mfeka; and an impressive five out of ten positions in the postgraduate category: Shuaib Mahomed, Adriano Manferdini, Mogau Marutla, Tšhegofatšo Matloga, and Mandisa Ncoba.
The four undergraduate finalists: Left to right front row: Angelina Erasmus, Audrey Manyangeni and Nomfundo Mfeka. Back row: Amir Dildar.
The competition finals took place in Cape Town in the third week of February, where finalists participated in a series of events, including challenging panel interviews, leading up to the 2025 Budget Speech. With the unexpected postponement of the Budget Speech, the results of the competition were also postponed to this week. Following the Budget Speech by Finance Minister Mr. Enoch Godongwana, the winners were announced at a gala dinner in Cape Town where they were honoured by Minister Godongwana, Old Mutual CEO Iain Williamson, Nedbank Economist Isaac Matshego, and other prominent guests from government and the private sector.
CLM Dean, Professor Jason Cohen, said “the continuous victories of our students every year in making the finals, and then winning a number of the prizes, is testimony both to the outstanding academic teaching offered at Wits, but also to the wonderful commitment of our academics. It is a celebration for all of us in the Faculty to witness the Budget Competition every year”.
Reflecting on this outstanding achievement and the thought-provoking questions raised by our finalists, it is clear that Wits’ students remain deeply committed to intellectual excellence and societal impact. As we celebrate their success, we eagerly anticipate the lasting contributions these bright minds will make in shaping the future of our nation and beyond.