NWU's André Mellet is Absa/Beeld Economist of the Year

VANDERIJLPARK - Mr André Mellet, an economics lecturer at the Vaal Triangle Campus of the North-West University was recently named Economist of the Year during the prestigious Absa/Beeld Economist of the Year competition.

The announcement was made on Tuesday, 8 May, during a glitzy ceremony in Kyalami after Mr Mellet’s spot-on predictions about the economy saw him taking the spoils. It is the first time that an academic is awarded the title and according to the judges, Mr Mellet is the first-ever economist to win the competition with such a great margin. The outcome of the competition saw Mr Mellet predicting five of the ten variables correctly, whilst his anticipation of interest rates also hit the mark. Mr Mellet entered the competition for the first time in 2003 and beat a group of 30 competitors for the title.Apart from the title, Economist of the Year 2006, Mr Mellet also received a trophy and R100 000.

Mr Mellet is a respected financial analyst who has submitted several articles for the Financial Planners Institute (FPI). As an academic, Mr Mellet created several certificate courses in economics and he is furthermore widely regarded as a guest speaker of note on topics regarding economics. He is particularly interested in monetary economics, macroeconomics and policy issues. Mr Mellet did his master’s degree in monetary economics. Mr Mellet views his achievement as a great honour and a highlight of his career. He has been a lecturer at the Vaal Triangle Campus for the past eleven years.

A proud Mr André Mellet with the trophy he received as Economist of the Year.