NUM and JB Marks Awards to honour 105 graduates at Emperors Palace tonight

NUM Press Statement, 25 August 2017

NUM and JB Marks Awards to honour 105 graduates at Emperors Palace tonight

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the JB Marks Education Trust Fund will set a new standard in the education and corporate sectors by honouring 105 graduates this year at its prestigious 8th Annual JB Marks Graduates Awards Ceremony, which will be held at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, on Friday, 25th August 2017.

Among the 105 graduates to be celebrated are those who are qualified in various fields of study including Law, Health, Education, Engineering and Science—a collective achievement, which shows the efficacy of the JB Marks bursary programme; a programme initiated under the auspices of Mineworkers Investment Trust (MIT) whose interest in the needs of the community led to the formation of Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC) to provide funds for the JB Marks Education Trust Fund and Awards Programmes.

The JB Marks Education Trust Fund was founded in 1997 by the NUM and named after the first president of the African Miners Union and this year, the Trust celebrates its 20th-anniversary milestone. Over the past two decades, JB Marks has provided bursaries for members of the NUM and their families; ultimately enabling 1121 bursars to graduate with mainstream qualifications (including 18 medical doctors).

What makes the JB Marks Education Trust Fund particularly important to the general upliftment of the community is its interest in the dependents of the NUM members, of whom many have received educational bursaries.

NUM General Secretary David Sipunzi, Gauteng MEC of Education Panyaza Lesufi, and the founding CEO of the Mineworkers Investment Company Clifford Elk will attend the ceremony. Clifford Elk will deliver a keynote address.

Educating and empowering young Southern Africans is the centerpiece of the NUM strategy meant to break the yoke of the triple evils of poverty, unemployment, and inequality.

As the NUM, we have deliberately and consciously placed ourselves at the forefront of championing the national effort of educating and empowering the dependents of our members. Education of an individual is by definition education of a society.

The NUM through the JB Marks Education Trust Fund will continue to educate its members and their dependents.

The NUM is inviting the media to attend and report about this prestigious event tonight at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park. The event is starting at 6 pm.

For more information, please contact:

Welsina Sekanka: JB Marks Education Trust Fund: Communications Officer: 083 289 7368
Livhuwani Mammburu: NUM National Spokesperson: 083 809 3257

The National Union of Mineworkers
7 Rissik Street.
Cnr Frederick Johannesburg
Tel: 011 377 2111 Cell: 083 809 3257
Twitter: @Num_Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NUM/100860023402167