<p>Forget about the World Cup African Business News – the company that owns CNBC Africa and Forbes Africa – scored a satisfying hat trick in journalism at a glittering gathering of the finest financial journalists on the continent.</p>
<p>For the third year in-a-row ABN won the best newcomer award at the Sanlam Awards in South Africa.</p>
<p>This feat is a tribute to the academy of journalism that ABN is becoming; that idea of bringing up talent, mentoring the fire of youth and passing on skills. This has turned our proud operation here in Stella Street, Sandton, into a seed bed for future journalists.</p>
<p>This was a modus operandi I pioneered, as editor, at the birth of Forbes Africa way back in 2011 and I continue to this day at CNBC Africa. It always gives me a swell of pride to hear some of those I trained, training others. At this company we believe not in giving the hungry a fish, but teaching them how to fish. There is a lot of nonsense talked about inspiring the youth, but success boils down to the simple inculcation of hard work and effort.</p>
<p>The young hopefuls themselves, play a full part in pouring their youth and idealism into the career in journalism that lies at their feet – if they can apply themselves.</p>
<p>One factor that unites our young talent is that they had to make a concerted leap off the bottom rung of the ladder.</p>
<p>This tale is told by the way into the newsroom at ABN made by our hat trick of winners.  Our first winner, in 2016, was Ancillar Mangena a determined young woman who will win many more awards yet. She cut her teeth on a free community newspaper in Johannesburg writing about pot holes and school sports days. One morning I opened her newspaper and saw her many by-lines and wondered what wonders she could do on a magazine like Forbes Africa. I telephoned her and the next morning she came in, with a thumbed copy of the magazine in hand, and put her case. There followed years of intense journalism.</p>
<p>In 2017, it was the turn of Aviwe Mtila to accept the best newcomer award. In the last three years he has come a long way in more ways than one. His route to the ABN newsroom was overnight, on a bus, from East London, merely for an interview for an internship. Later that day, he went back overnight home. Within a year, Aviwe had got the hang of TV reporting and was soon dodging bricks at university riots and covering the chaos at the South Africa-Zimbabwe border. Mentorship and opportunity are his best friend.</p>
<p>This year it was Melitta Ngolonkulu who picked up the award with a trio of well executed and written stories on Ponzi schemes, the death of retail and the coffee industry. Her sacrifice was door knocking in search of scarce jobs for young journalists. For a year, she rang me every month, or so, from Port Elizabeth as part of her long and soul destroying search for a job. I eventually came to appreciate her tenacity and gave her an internship.</p>
<p>Three young African journalists to watch in a great African newsroom.</p>


ABN: A seed bed for future journalists

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<p>It&#8217;s a historical day, Former president Jacob Zuma will be prosecuted for 16 chargers including corruption, racketeering and fraud, CNBC Africa reporter Aviwe Mtila was there when the announcement was made and he joins us now for more.</p>


Abrahams says Zuma to face prosecution

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<p>It&#8217;s that worrying time for thousands of people across Africa when their children try to register at some of the continent&#8217;s finest universities in South Africa.</p>


Students in limbo over free education

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<p>It is day five of the African National Congress National policy conference and is drawing to an end at the Nasrec Expo Centre south of Johannesburg. CNBC Africa&#8217;s Aviwe Mtila gives us an update and more.</p>


ANC’s national policy conference: Day 5 update

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<p>African oldest liberation party, the African National congress is currently holding its 5th policy conference at the Nasrec Expo Centre south of Johannesburg where policy stance such as radical economic transformation and land reform.</p>


ANC’s 5th national policy conference update

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<p>As the African National Congress holds its fifth policy conference, Secretary General Gwede Mantashe has highlighted the economic problems facing the country, saying the ANC will emerge with a united common vision for the economic trajectory.</p>


ANC policy conference: Update

<p>South Africa’s top journalists were again honoured on Wednesday at The Sanlam Awards for Excellence in Financial Journalism. Among them were two of ABN Group’s best – Aviwe Mtila of CNBC Africa and Ancillar Mangena of Forbes Africa.</p>
<p>Mtila, who won Best Newcomer Award has been a broadcast financial journalist for almost two years. Seldom in broadcast financial journalism is exceptionalism displayed in such a short period of time but this is precisely what Mtila has achieved, says Monique Vanek, CNBC Africa&#8217;s Editor. &#8220;Mtila has developed an exceptional ability to tell stories visually and simply &#8211; going the extra mile to do so,&#8221; she adds.</p>
<p>Mtila won his award for:</p>
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<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/myETwgY5YKM" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Explaining the unrest at Zimbabwe&#039;s Beitbridge border" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Igj_FxXtoQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Mangena who won <a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/special-report/2016/06/13/ancillar-mangena-sanlam-award/">Best Newcomer last year,</a> this year took home the African Growth Story prize. Mangena hails from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and has worked for Forbes Africa and Forbes Woman Africa for just over two years during which time she has won seven awards.</p>
<p>Mangena&#8217;s award was for her portfolio of work on <a href="http://www.thomsonfoundation.onlinesolutionsltd.com/assets/News_Features/2016/FPA%20Awards%202016/Finalists/Story%203Zim%20Shutdown.pdf">Zimbabwe’s economy </a>and #ThisFlag and #ShutDownZim2016 campaigns as well as <a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/special-report/2016/05/27/forbes-africa-reveals-africa-30-under-30/">FORBES AFRICA 30 under 30 2016</a>.</p>


CNBC Africa, Forbes Africa scoop Sanlam Awards

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<p>Last night CNBC Africa&#8217;s Aviwe Mtila won the Sanlam best newcomer in journalism award. His winning stories included violence and chaos at Beit bridge border post and Mall Mania which looked at the fierce competition of South Africa&#8217;s 2000 malls.</p>


CNBC Africa’s Aviwe Mtila wins Sanlam best newcomer in journalism award

<p>South Africa’s current political divisions are the biggest threat to the country being downgraded by the bond credit rating company, Moody’s Investor Service.</p>
<p>This was the word on Tuesday from Moody’s Senior Vice President, Sovereign Risk Group, Kristin Lindow, addressing Moody’s 11th Annual South African Credit Risk Conference, held at Sandton’s Hilton Hotel.</p>
<p>“We’ve highlighted in our latest credit opinion that the increased political divisions that we’re seeing in South Africa threaten to impede structural reforms… We don’t know the ultimate outcome of some of this current noise surrounding the Hawks investigation for example, but regardless of that outcome, if the reform commitments were not to materialise, that would be how it would be reflected in our rating,” says Lindow.</p>
<p>Although the ratings agency stated that the probability of a downgrade were less than 50 per cent, it did warn that a cut was likely if economic growth fell below its estimated growth of 0.2 per cent this year.</p>
<p>On this news, the rand strengthened to 13.86 to the dollar at 2pm.</p>
<p>“The key drivers are whether the growth would recover. So we anticipate that growth will bottom out this year and then start to recover in subsequent years. So if we decide that that is unlikely to materialise, that could be one factor,” says Lindow.</p>
<p>As South Africa’s sovereign rating is set to be released on the 25th November, Lindow said that a possible downgrade wouldn’t be as drastic as being downgraded to junk status.</p>
<p>“Our rating is two notches above non-investment grade at present. So even if there were to be a downgrade of South Africa’s rating, which is not necessarily what is going to happen, we wouldn’t expect it to move to non-investment grade,” says Lindow.</p>


Aviwe Mtila

ABN: A seed bed for future journalists

Abrahams says Zuma to face prosecution

Students in limbo over free education

ANC’s national policy conference: Day 5 update

ANC’s 5th national policy conference update

ANC policy conference: Update

CNBC Africa, Forbes Africa scoop Sanlam Awards

CNBC Africa’s Aviwe Mtila wins Sanlam best newcomer in journalism award

S.A’s political divisions are threat to the country’s sovereign ratings

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Aviwe Mtila

ABN: A seed bed for future journalists

Abrahams says Zuma to face prosecution

Students in limbo over free education

ANC’s national policy conference: Day 5 update

ANC’s 5th national policy conference update

ANC policy conference: Update

CNBC Africa, Forbes Africa scoop Sanlam Awards

CNBC Africa’s Aviwe Mtila wins Sanlam best newcomer in journalism award

S.A’s political divisions are threat to the country’s sovereign ratings

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