Stellenbosch has four postgraduate finalists in Budget Speech competition

Cathy Bashala, Melissa van Rensburg, Jacques Verreynne and Stephen Reid are Stellenbosch University's top 10 postgraduate finalists in the Nedbank and Old Mutual Budget Speech Competition 2009. They will be part of a select group of students attending the Budget Speech live in Parliament on 17 February 2010, after which the winner of the 2009 competition will be announced at a banquet later the evening. The Nedbank and Old Mutual Budget Speech Competition seeks to nurture and invest in the next generation of economists, decision makers and thinkers.  Generous cash prizes are awarded to the three top essays in the post-graduate and undergraduate categories.

The four finalists

Melissa van Rensburg is currently completing a Master's Degree in Economics at Stellenbosch University. Melissa's many achievements include being awarded the ABSA prize for best Honours thesis by the Economic Society of South Africa in 2009, being a Top 10 ad Top 20 finalist in the Budget Speech Competition in 2006 and 2007. She was also awarded the Rector's Award for outstanding academic achievement in 2008.

Cathy Bashala is completing her Masters degree in Economics at Stellenbosch University. She was a previous top 10 finalist in the 2008 competition. She has experience working as a research assistant for various organizations, which include the Centre for Chinese Studies and SUN Student Affairs and enjoys tae-bo.

Jacques Verreynne is currently completing a Master's Degree in Economics as well. He was awarded an Honours B.Comm cum laude in 2008 and was a top 20 postgraduate finalist in the 2008 Budget Speech Competition. For his Honours thesis he estimated an econometric model to determine the marginal revenue product of cricketers in domestic leagues in various countries. He is an avid tennis and cricket player.

Stephen Reid passed his B. Comm Honours degree in Actuarial Science in 2008 with 88%. He also consistently achieved more than 90% for each year of his undergraduate B.Comm Actuarial Science degree and was awarded the Chancellor's medal in 2008 for excellent academic achievement.