Economics Student to Represent UKZN at The 2014 Nedbank and Old Mutual Budget Speech Competition

BY: .

Bachelor of Commerce in Economics Honours student Mr Ranvir Mohanlal has been selected as one of the finalists for the 2014 Nedbank and Old Mutual Budget Speech Competition.

The essay competition which is supported by the National Treasury sees undergraduate and postgraduate students from the country’s universities compete to be one of the 20 finalists who will travel to Cape Town in February next year for an opportunity to meet and network with the key players in the financial industry. They will also get an opportunity to hear Finance Minister Mr Nhlanhla Nene deliver the 2015 Budget Speech in Parliament. Furthermore, the winners will be announced at a banquet where the students will be given an opportunity to ask the Minister questions.

For his entry, Mohanlal chose to analyse the impact of trade union’s proposal to withdraw the employment tax incentive (youth wage subsidy) and their proposal of implementing a national minimum wage. Speaking about what being selected means for him, Mohanlal described it as an opportunity to showcase the skills and knowledge that he has attained through his studies.

‘The competition is an opportunity for me to further develop my skills and knowledge of economics and economic writing. It also presents me with a platform on which I could put forward my ideas on how to tackle the economic issues that South Africa, as a developing country, faces which will be invaluable in the development of my future career in economics,’ he said.

Looking to the future, Mohanlal said this achievement has motivated him to study further after completing his honours as a first step towards a successful career.

‘I aim to complete my honours degree in economics and then go on to do a masters degree in economics next year. After that I would like to start my career as an economist, working in a research based position where I will hopefully be able to contribute to developing economic policies that would help to further the development of South Africa and other developing countries around the world,’ he said.

Thandiwe Jumo