Johannesburg City Parks & Zoo honoured at the National Business Awards

17 November 2017

 

Johannesburg City Parks & Zoo (JCPZ) won the Highly Commended Award in the Top Performing Public Service category at the 15th annual National Business Awards held on 16 November at Emperors Palace. JCPZ were runners up behind trophy winners Mintek.

 

The organisation’s achievement at the renowned “Oscars of South African business” resulted from the unanimous verdict of the awards’ Judges, a collective of industry heavyweights.

There to hear the accolade announced were a host of business and government leaders, VIPs and media representatives. Also watching, via live social media updates, were thousands of South Africans whose engagement kept the awards trending for several hours.

Just recently, the City of Joburg was named the Greenest City in the 2017 National Awards by the Department of Environmental Affairs.

Acting Managing Director Bukelwa Njingolo was elated by this latest achievement. “We were extremely proud to be acknowledged with the Highly Commended award especially given the calibre of the organisations we were up against in the Public Sector category. I would like to thank the judges for recognising our level of commitment to the people and natural resources of Africa’s greatest city. This certificate belongs to all our citizens in Joburg, and provides a motivational boost to keep putting our all into the green heart of Johannesburg,” he said.

This year’s 15th anniversary awards marked a decade and a half of showcasing the achievements of both companies and individuals (CEOs, entrepreneurs) at the forefront of South Africa’s economy. While host organisation Top Media and Communication’s use of integrated digital data analysis tools has grown exponentially since the first awards, in terms of qualifying and ranking contenders, it is still professional human interpretation of the quantitative and qualitative data - by both Topco’s Research division and the Judges’ panel - which informs final outcomes.

Speakers at this year’s awards included Norman Mbazima, Deputy Chairman of Top 500 Company of 2017 Anglo American; Professor Brian Kantor; economy stalwart, thought leader and author of Get South Africa Growing, and group co-CEO of The Creative Counsel Ran Neu-Ner - himself the winner of the Top Performing Business Leader trophy at last year’s ceremony.

Top Media CEO Ralf Fletcher, who gave the evening’s Welcome Address, commended the achievement of the night’s finalists and winners, saying that “In my 20 years of immersion in the science of business performance recognition, I have seldom seen such a powerhouse collective of innovators, job creators and drivers of the economy all together on the same roster. Tonight has only deepened my belief in the global competitiveness and drive in evidence across our economy’s primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. I can’t wait to see what this year’s National Business Awards champions will do next.”

● For more information on Johannesburg City Parks & Zoo’s accolade and achievements, please 
contact Jenny Moodley on jmoodley@jhbcityparks.com or on 082 8030 748. Visit http://www.jhbcityparks.com/ to be welcomed 
outside.
● Visit http://www.nationalbusinessawards.co.za to see the full list of winners and view photos & 
videos from the 15th annual National Business Awards.