<strong>By: Financial Sector Conduct Authority</strong>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Kuhle Tshambula from </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Little Flower High School in Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">was crowned the 2019 National Financial Literacy Speech competition winner at Emperors Palace on Friday, 3 October 2019. Beating off stiff competition from St. Theresa Senior Secondary School’s Elona Mazingana and Epp Mhinga Secondary School‘s Unathi Baloyi, Kuhle wowed attendees and judges with a strong display of charisma, intelligence, eloquence and oratory skills that belied her age. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The speech competition saw nine talented grade 11 learners from each province give their best five-minute speeches on one of three financial topics. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The day began with a rousing rendition of the national anthem before there were brief addresses from the FSCA’s Executive Officer Adv. Dube Tshidi, the Financial Planning Institute’s David Kop, National Credit Regulator’s Ms. Nomsa Motshegare and the Financial Services Consumer Education Foundation’s Dr Lloyd Kaseke. The man who founded the financial literacy speech competition, Mr. Artwell Hlengwa also spoke to the learners and finalists. Mr. Hlengwa shared anecdotes from his own youth, how he came up with the concept and its growth over the years. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The host province’s education MEC, Mr Panyaza Lesufi, then provided the keynote speech to the young learners and their school representatives. Drawing a comparison between the gold reserves in the Witwatersrand that attracted prospectors to Johannesburg in the late 19</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">th </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">and early 20</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">th </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">century, and the youth of South Africa in 2019, MEC Lesufi stated that they are the precious resource that will ensure that the country prospers. He referred to the learners as “future gold”, who will drive innovation, creativity and job creation for the South African economy. He commended the finalists for their success and oratory skills, challenging them to continue to equip themselves with financial, risk-taking, entrepreneurial and critical thinking skills, which initiatives such as the speech competition looks to develop. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The speech competition has grown remarkably since its launch in 2016, as the FSCA’s Divisional Executive for Regulatory Policy, Caroline Da Silva remarked, “Every year, we’ve seen great growth in this competition. When it was piloted in 2016, only Gauteng’s 15 districts participated with the selection of Grade 11 Business Studies learners only. Now we have over 3850 learners from every single province participating”. The full stats for participation for 2019 are an impressive 77 districts out of 83 districts across the country and 770 schools who offer commerce subjects such as business studies, accounting and </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">economics. The provincial top three winners received investment prizes to the value of R30 000, R15 000 and R7 500, respectively. A similar amount was awarded to their respective schools to purchase learning resources. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Once all nine finalists had presented their speeches, the judging panel scored each learner and the top 3 were announced with Kuhle Tshambula named the national winner, followed by Elona Mazingana in second place and Unathi Baloyi in third. It was then time for the prize-giving ceremony. Each finalist received a full bursary to cover all expenses (tuition, accommodation and living costs) for a first degree at a university of their choice, will also be handed to each provincial winner at the final. The top 3 received an additional investment prize of R30 000, R15 000 and R7 500. </span>

<strong>The nine provincial finalists were: </strong>

<ul>

<li><b>Kuhle Tshambula </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">from Little Flower High School in Kwa-Zulu Natal </span></li><li><b>Elona Mazingana </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">from St. Theresa Senior Secondary School in Eastern Cape </span></li><li><b>Unathi Baloyi </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">from Epp Mhinga Secondary School in Limpopo </span></li><li><b>Karabo Mobetwa </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">from Mampho Secondary School in the North West </span></li><li><b>Tshepang Maraka </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">from K.P. Toto Technical &amp; Commercial High School in Northern Cape </span></li><li><b>Vuyolwethu Dlwathi </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">Usasazo High School in Western Cape </span></li><li><b>Phoebe Phillips </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">from Fred Norman Secondary School in Gauteng </span></li><li><b>Katleho Mokubung </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">from Teto High School in </span></li><li><b>Zanele Masombuka </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">from Ubuhlebethu Combined School in Free State </span></li>

</ul>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Reflecting on the success of the competition and the brilliant skill on display from the young learners, Da Silva added “We are extremely proud of each learner that participated in this year’s competition as well as the schools that supported them. We congratulate the winners and the finalists for a job very well done.” The speech competition is part of the FSCA’s broader mandate to promote financial literacy at schools and create awareness about consumer rights and accessible support systems. It also supports careers in the financial sector as well as encourages entrepreneurship among young South Africans. </span>