Prominent business and investment leaders took to the Great Hall stage for two days earlier this week.
Students and members of the financial industry discussed issues and opportunities facing investment professionals and the corporate world at the forum of the Association for Black Securities and Investments Professionals (Absip) themed Awakening Investment Potential.
Speakers included former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka; Arcelor Mittal CEO Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita; Google SA country manager Luke Mckend; World Bank lead private sector development specialist Chunlin Zhang; Murray & Roberts CEO Lesley Mosimang and SAB Miller CEO Graham Mackay.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan attracted a large audience for his talk. He jokingly asked why students were holding an investment conference when none of them wore Gucci suits.
Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan speaks to students during the two-day Absip Investment Forum Photo: Tshepo Tshabalala
He said we need to create an environment where small business can flourish.
Gordhan also echoed government’s sentiments on the nationalisation of mines. “From the president down we have been saying that nationalisation of mines is not a government policy.”
He said All South Africans have an important contribution to make to “create the right climate for our economy to grow and for our economy to grow in a way in which all our people benefit”.
“We can’t grow as an economy compared to 10 and 15 years ago because the current generation of 5-million youths has no jobs, are lacking skills, and are without university degrees.”
Gordhan said government needs to redefine the target of growing the economy by 7% a year.
“It’s important to set the right aspirations for South Africa and to make sure our economy becomes globally competitive,” he said. “Investment is crucial for economic growth,” Gordhan said, adding that the youth had a pivotal role to play.
THE Amphitheatre was abuzz with music and eager students to see who would walk away with the McDonald’s Top Jock DJ competition title last week Thursday.
Fanele “FA1” Moloi, a second year BCom accounting student, was chosen as the winner .The competition, alongside ambassador and 5fm’s DJ Euphonik, invited aspirant DJs between the ages of 18 and 24 from 10 campuses around the country to submit their demos to enter the competition.
Five students battled it out on the decks integrating McDonald’s jingle into their mixing. FA1’s clever and skilful mixing made certain house DJ Euphonik’s judging crowned him the best jock on the decks. The 5 students had to play and mix house tracks for two minutes each. They all gave the crowd a good show but it was FA1’s smart transition between tracks that won the crowd and Dj Euphonik over. FA1 received Pioneer headphones for winning the Wits leg of the competition.
Turning Tables: Fanele “FA1” Moloi, a second year BCom Accounting student, was chosen as the representative for Wits in the McDonalds Top Jock DJ search Photo: Tshepo Tshabalala
After his win he said, “I have to work harder and make better mixes. I was just in it for the fun, but now I have to represent the campus and I cannot disappoint. I just have to give it my all and see how far I get in the competition.”
McDonald’s head of business and consumer strategy, Daniel Padiachy, said, “The McDonald’s Top Jock Competition is all about celebrating the youth and fits into our broader 24/7 initiative.”
He said they have noticed a growing trend of young South Africans out and about late into the night, working, studying or partying and they want to ensure that customers have a McDonald’s restaurant to visit whenever their hunger hits them.
The competition has run at other universities such as the University of Johannesburg, University of Pretoria, North West University, Tshwane University of Technolgoy and the University of the Free State. It will now move to Stellenbosch and UCT.
Renowned party starter DJ Euphonik is the judge for all the campus competitions. The finals will be held at Melrose Arch on April 7 when a panel of judges will choose the winner. The ultimate winner walks away with a 12-month sound engineering degree from Soul Candi. Padiachy said the winner will also walk away with a mixing desk from Pioneer, a set of Pioneer headphones and a three-month DJ course sponsored by Soul Candi.
A group of students from the Silly Buggers’ society overtook the VoW Radio Station at 1pm on Wednesday. They entered the studios wearing bandannas over their faces and interrupted DJ Fix’s show, tied him up and forced him into the back of a bakkie waiting outside the building. They were then spotted driving around on campus with their hostage before leaving him inside a car in front of the Great Hall for students to see.
Wits students hold a range of feelings about the upcoming municipal elections, varying between high optimism, extreme apathy and cynical pessimism.
Flora Shipalana, a 17-year-old LLB student who believes that voting is part of being a good citizen, says she is “excited” and has a “good feeling” about the elections. “We all reap the benefits which the government allocates.
“It’s unfair to receive the benefits while not having voted.”
At the opposite end of the spectrum is Ntsundeni Phaphi, a 20-year-old BSc electrical engineering student from Limpopo, who did not register to vote. His hesitation to register, let alone vote, hinges around the widespread underperformance and alleged corruption in the local government of his home province.
“Once a person has won, it’s like a business. They’ll be making money, and forgetting about the community. I doubt if my vote makes a difference. I don’t get (the point of) voting,” he said.
On the other hand, while sharing Phaphi’s disappointment in the current government, some students are of the view that their votes do indeed count, even if they don’t make a “huge difference”, as BMus and BA students Michelle Wheeler and Nichola Cheshire agreed.
Another such student is Kyle Nel, a second year BMus student, who said that he would be voting in order to see if the country would have a better future with another party’s leadership.
“We all know who’s going to get in again, but it’s worth a try.”
The final voter registration weekend will be held tomorrow and on Sunday (5 & 6 March). Students with queries about their registration status may contact the Independent Electoral Commission via their website, call the following toll-free number: 0800 11 8000, or sms their ID number to 32810.
Since her announcement as the Democratic Alliance’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, Helen Zille has dominated national headlines. In this bonus episode of We Should Be Writing podcast, hosts Lulah Mapiye and Bonolo Mokonoto dissect a media meet-and-greet with the mayoral hopeful. From her extensive political résumé to her controversial public utterance, we examine why the Democratic Alliance has chosen Hellen Zille as their candidate for the 2027 local mayoral elections. Additionally, […]
