WATCH LIVE | Citizen of the Year Awards ceremony

There is just one week to go before the winners of The Herald Citizen of the Year Awards are announced during a virtual ceremony on Friday September 18.

For this year's awards, with a focus on heroes who have gone beyond the call of duty to help during the Covid-19 pandemic, winners will be crowned in six categories.

Previously, the Herald Citizen of the Year Awards culminated in two winners, who were selected from a group of six finalists in the open and  youth categories.

The 2020 awards ceremony will be streamed from the Radisson Blu Hotel where Community Chest chief executive Selwyn Willis will host Vodacom Eastern Cape head of sales and marketing Tshego Malinga; Radisson Blu acting general manager Elmarie Fritz; and The Herald and Weekend Post acting editor Rochelle de Kock.

Winners will be selected from these categories:

• Frontline – nurses and doctors
• Frontline – administration,
• Philanthropist
• Civil society - small and large
• NPO Innovators
• Large business

Winners and readers who join the virtual awards ceremony stand a chance of winning one of five Lenovo E7 tablets valued at R1,449 each.

Crucial work in a time of crisis

The overall winner of the Herald Citizen of the Year Awards in 2016, Mabele Mtubeli, said the selfless work done by the nominees was especially crucial during a time when SA is in crisis.

"Working for the community is very important, especially in the crisis faced by our economy. Our destitute community needs us [more than] ever before," he said.

Mtubeli said winning the award had boosted his morale and created opportunities with potential funders.

"Being The Herald Citizen of the Year also allows you to grow mentally and opens many doors for you to become one of the community's prominent figures," he said.

Mtubeli, the founder of Blue Lite, a non-profit organisation, was in 2016 recognised for his efforts to offer basic medical care in an underprivileged community. He runs a free private clinic from his mother's house in KwaNobuhle.

He said demand for the clinic's services had grown so much that it needed more room to accommodate patients, but the means to get there were halted by the lockdown.

The judges for the awards are De Kock; Port Elizabeth Mental Health board member and 2015 Citizen of the Year winner Zodwa Dube; Wilderness Foundation CEO Andrew Muir; and former Nelson Mandela University arts and culture department head Michael Barry.

Watch the awards

The virtual award ceremony is FREE to attend on Friday September 18 at 4pm.