manuel and ackerman awarded
09 July 2008

Finance minister Trevor Manuel and businessman Raymond Ackerman will receive awards from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the United States' Smithsonian Institution, the center said on Wednesday.

"They have been leaders in their respective fields in achieving South Africa's remarkable transition to democracy over the last two decades and have made important contributions to the country's social welfare and economic wellbeing," said Lee H Hamilton, president and director of the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Manuel will receive the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service "for his many years of commitment to the people and economy of South Africa."  

Ackerman will receive the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship "in recognition of his distinguished business career and entrepreneurial leadership, and for his efforts in both breaking down racial barriers in the workplace during the Apartheid years."

The awards will be presented at a dinner presided over by Telkom CEO Reuben September on 30 July.   The awards dinner will benefit the Woodrow Wilson Center's Africa Program and Project on Leadership and Building State Capacity, both of which are led by former US Congressman and House Africa Subcommittee Chairperson Howard Wolpe.

AFP,  http://business.iafrica.com