<strong>By: The Association of South African Black Actuarial Professionals</strong>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The Association of South African Black Actuarial Professionals (ASABA) hosted their annual conference and gala dinner at the beautiful Johannesburg Country Club recently. As always, the 2018/2019 Executive Committee ensured the event was a highlight on ASABA’s calendar.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Aptly themed </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Actuaries as problem solvers in the digital era</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the impact of artificial intelligence on the actuarial profession, entrepreneurship and skills development as well as ongoing industry transformation and current and future employment opportunities and challenges were some of the topics discussed.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Prominent members of ASABA as well as the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) attended the event with South African businesswoman, author and chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand, Dr Judy Dlamini, as keynote speaker.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Some of the other top speakers on the day included Mr Faizel Jeena - Head of the Risk Support Department in the Prudential Authority of the South African Reserve Bank and Mr Thuto Shomang - Group Treasury Executive at MTN.    </span>

<i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Working While Black</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> formed the basis of the panel discussion facilitated by Mpho Mtsi.</span>

<strong>ASABA ended off the event with a prestigious gala dinner, presenting the following individuals and corporates that lead by example, with the following awards:</strong>

<ul>

<li><b>The Mentorship Award</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for a mentor who has had a significant impact on mentees, mentored more than two mentees in a successful manner and whose mentoring skills can be attested to by at least one senior colleague or Actuary, was awarded to Lebo Winston Mphahlele.</span></li><li><b>The AWC Inkanyezi Award</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which is awarded to an actuarial professional who has achieved personal and professional success, provided mentorship to other females in the financial services industry and who has shown leadership in business and the greater community, went to Paballo Makupu (Tsietsi Ngobese received the award on her behalf.)</span></li><li><b>The President’s Award</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which is awarded (at the discretion of the ASABA president) to an individual who has made a significant contribution to assist ASABA in achieving their goals, went to Nokwanda Mkhize. </span></li><li><b>The Best Employer Award</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, as voted by working actuarial professionals, was awarded to Old Mutual.</span></li><li><b>The Best Vacation Work Employer Award</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which is awarded to the employer that invested the most in the development of actuarial trainees and hired the most vacation students, went to Liberty (received by Tokazi Nkushubana.)</span></li>

</ul>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">In recognition of their hard work and dedication, ASABA also presented professionals who qualified as actuaries in 2018 and 2019 with certificates at the gala event. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Going forward, ASABA will continue to innovate, drive, recognise and celebrate the important role that actuarial professionals play in South Africa,” said Memory Zimba, president elect of ASABA for 2020/2021.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Memory will work closely with the following members of the ASABA executive committee, elected for 2020/2021: Anderson Pillay - Director at Keystone Actuarial Solutions, Daniel Mahatlane - Actuarial Specialist at Hollard Life, Halatedzi Ramigo - Group Risk Specialist at RGA, Lesego Maseko - Actuarial Manager at Government Employees Pension Fund, Nabeelah Kolia - Manager at Deloitte, Tsietsi Ngobese - Chief Executive Officer of Wesolve4x (Pty) Ltd, Tshegofatso Sekgwele - Investment Specialist at Sanlam and </span><a href="https://asaba.co.za/emmanuel-mutavha-head-mentorship"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Zanele Ncayiyana - Technical Analyst at ABSA CIB</span></a>