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Inaugural ‘Sanlam and Santam Economist of the Year’ competition gala celebrates future economists

24 October 2024 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Stephen Collett

The inaugural ‘Sanlam and Santam Economist of the Year’ competition gala, held on 18 October 2024 at the University of the Free State (UFS) Bloemfontein Campus, has been hailed as a significant opportunity for growth. Hosted by the Department of Economics and Finance in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS), in collaboration with Sanlam and Santam, the event celebrated the exceptional talents of young economists.

The gala brought together representatives from Sanlam and Santam, faculty members, the top 10 competition finalists, and the department’s leading academic performers from each year group. Jaco Geldenhuys, Senior Business Manager at Sanlam, commended the participants for their dedication, noting: ’Today, we not only recognise your academic excellence but also the potential, positive impact you will have in the world.’’

Prof Johan Coetzee, Chairperson of the Department of Economics and Finance, echoed this sentiment, emphasising that the competition aims to equip graduates to become global citizens who can solve problems, think critically, and communicate effectively in a constantly changing world.

What transpired during the event

The top 10 finalists presented their analysis in a 6-minute presentation before a panel of economists from the department, demonstrating their understanding of the macroeconomic environment, the methods they used to predict key macroeconomic indicators, and the lessons they gained from the process. After these presentations, the top three finalists were chosen and were required to respond to questions from the panel, determining the overall winner.

The top three included Tricia Khoza, who secured third place, Mokai Malope, who earned second place; and Reatile Seekoei, who was named the 2024 ‘Sanlam and Santam Economist of the Year’.

All three finalists expressed their gratitude for the opportunity. Seekoei shared: “Competitions like this are invaluable because they prepare us for the working world. We have gained several graduate attributes we were introduced to at the start of our academic journey.’’

In addition to recognising the top three finalists, the department also awarded certificates to its top academic achievers, ranging from first-year undergraduate students to master's candidates.

Paving the way for the future

For many of the participants, the competition provided an invaluable glimpse into the professional world, offering them a chance to apply their classroom learning to real-world economic challenges. Geldenhuys encouraged the young economists to use their knowledge to challenge inequality, promote fairness, and drive innovation and sustainable growth.

News Archive

Land reform and land issues key drivers for Dr Rory Pilossof

2017-12-25

Dr Rory Pilossof is a senior lecturer in
Economics at the UFS, a postdoctoral fellow
in the ISG, and a Research Fellow
at the University of Kent in the UK.
Photo: Charl Devenish

Dr Rory Pilossof is a senior lecturer in Economics at the University of the Free State (UFS), a postdoctoral fellow in the International Studies Group at the UFS, and a Research Fellow at the University of Kent in the UK.

He became interested in his research field when he studied land reform and land issues in Zimbabwe for his PhD at the University of Sheffield. From there, his research interests have expanded to look at other issues connected to land, such as whiteness and labour.

Issue of land reform
Dr Pilossof's study field links up with the important issue of land reform in Southern Africa, due to its past colonialism and post-colonial politics of land and land ownership. These intersect with a wide range of labour issues that are pressing in the region. He has a keen interest in elite transitions and changes in economic structure in Southern Africa since the 1960s.

Dr Pilossof was nominated to the South African Young Academy of Science in 2017, and received an NRF Y1 rating during 2017. He is also a member of the Amsterdam-based International Institute for Social History’s ‘Global Collaboratory on the History of Labour Relations’. He is a participant in the Leverhulme Trust-funded initiative Comparative History of Political Engagement in Western and African Societies Programme at the University of Sheffield.

Alternative ways of looking at change
Dr Pilossof's primary research focuses on issues of land, labour, and changing social and economic structures in Zimbabwe and South Africa. He is also interested in finding alternative ways of looking at change. To this end, he has studied various newspapers and periodicals in the region.

Currently, he spends most of his research time as part of a three-year British Academy-funded Advanced Newton Fellowship into labour relations and occupational structures. In future, he wants to expand his research in the labour field by looking at labour and migration in the region over the course of the 20th century.

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