Meet the judges who will be presiding at the prestigious Investing in the Future Awards
Mail & Guardian reporter
An impressive panel of opinion-makers have agreed to judge the Investing in the Future Awards. The awards laud corporate social investment in South Africa and were established over a decade ago by the Mail & Guardian. They are now run in association with the Southern African Grantmakers’ Association.
The winning organisation is heralded for its commitment to social responsibility on a sustainable basis and its alignment with the government’s strategic plans for the country.
The task of judging these awards is no mean feat and the M&G is grateful to those who have accepted our invitation to become involved.
Frederick van zyl Slabbert
Well-known as the leader of the erstwhile Progressive FP until he resigned and formed the Institute for Democracy in South Africa. Frederick van zyl Slabbert is a widely respected political consultant to a variety of interest groups and companies.
He is also the director of Khula Consulting (Pty) Ltd and chair of Open Society Initiative, Adcorp Holdings (Pty) Ltd, CTP/Caxton and Goree Institute.
Ebrahim Gabriels
President of the Muslim Judicial Council and chair of the Trust Board for the Muslim Broadcasting Corporation.
He is an active member in his community, as trustee of the Islamic Social Welfare Association and president of the Mitchells Plain Islamic High School.
Participant of The Moral Summit called by former president Nelson Mandela.
Rhoda Kadalie
R hoda Kadalie is director of the Impumelelo Innovations Award Programme, an initiative that rewards innovative government and civil society programmes that improve social service delivery in the eradication of poverty.
Prior to that she was a human rights commissioner responsible for the Western and Northern Cape.
She founded the Gender Equity Unit at the University of the Western Cape and has presented many a paper on human rights and gender issues in South Africa.
Sibongile Mkhabela
Programmes director of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Sibongile Mkhabela was previously programmes director in the office of former deputy president Thabo Mbeki. Prior to that she worked in senior positions for the United Nations Development Programme.
Mkhabela is a social worker by profession and a former activist.
Dr Jeya Wilson
Jeya Wilson is chief executive of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She was educated in Sri Lanka, Samoa, New Zealand, the United States and Britain.
She has been living in South Africa since 1989 and is a South African citizen.
Wilson has a doctorate in international relations, Sanctions and South Africa, from the University of Oxford, where she was a Commonwealth scholar and became president of the Oxford Union.
Chief Rabbi Cyril K Harris
Commenced as chief rabbi of the Union of Orthodox Synagogues of South Africa in 1988. He is the honorary president of the South African Board of Jewish Education, the South African Zionist Federation, the United Mizrachi Organisation of South Africa and the South African Rabbinical Association.
Chief Rabbi Cyril Harris was educated in Glasgow and London and lectured at the University of the Witwatersand.
He is a popular speaker and lectures extensively throughout the country to civic, business and religious organisations and various groups.
Reg Rumney
Now the economics editor of the SABC, Reg Rumney founded the Investing in the Future Awards 11 years ago while occupying the same position at the M&G.
He has been intimately involved with the awards ever since, remaining a guiding spirit.
Mokhethi Moshoeshoe
Mokhethi Mohoeshoe is executive director of the Southern African Grantmakers’ Association.
A former English literature and maths teacher at Sacred Heart in St Monica’s, Lesotho, Moshoeshoe is now a member of the Coordinating Committee of the Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support.
He serves on several boards of non-profit organisations.