Absa aims at bettering the best

A shared vision to better the best matrics in the Eastern and Southern Cape has seen Absa sign as co-title sponsor for the highly coveted The Herald Absa Matric of the Year Awards.

With the top 20 finalists selected, the announcement of this year’s winners – who will take home their share of prizes worth more than R120,000 – is closer than ever.

Absa retail banking regional executive Johnny Alcock said all entrants had shown great zeal and ambition.

He said the partnership between Absa and The Herald Matric of the Year Awards sought to encourage young people to channel their energies into education and sport to achieve excellence in life.

“There’s a way of doing things that’s unique to our continent, of meeting every challenge with tenacity, ingenuity, positivity and creativity.

“At Absa, we call this Africanacity, the distinctly African ability always to find ways to get things done.

“It’s the driving force behind everything we do to make possibilities come to life,” he said.

“Through these awards we publicly acknowledge those who have worked hard and motivate those who have great potential never to give up.

“We are embracing and encouraging future leaders to reach their full potential by rewarding excellence, social contribution and visible acts of peer encouragement.”

He said the focus on education and skills was to increase employment opportunities and sustainable livelihoods by enabling access to quality education.

“Absa is recognising you, the entrant, through merit which means that you are working hard, showing commitment through a determined spirit, demonstrating that you want to take your life on an upward trajectory.

“Education lays the foundation. Persistence and determination take you where you want to be. Be brave, be passionate, be ready,” Alcock said.

Having sifted through almost 100 entries, the judges, including Absa student and youth regional manager Thabiso Yako, The Herald and Weekend Post editor Nwabisa Makunga and education department PE district curriculum manager Isaac Metembo have made their top 20 selection, which will be announced on September 10.