Nthato Selebi: Teaching Bronx lessons in SA

Nthato Selebi, executive director of the South African Actuarial Development Programme (SAADP), has seen it all.

Born in Soweto at the height of apartheid in the 1970s, Selebi was raised in Katlehong, on the East Rand, and grew up in the Bronx in New York.

Situated along with Thokoza and Vosloorus, Katlehong experienced extreme political violence in the early 1990s, with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, claiming between 2 000 and 3 000 lives were lost during the apartheid-inspired hostel strife.

With a largely African-American and Hispanic population, the Bronx is known as the birthplace of hip-hop and salsa.

It is a vibrant cultural hub, with a rich history of artistic expression, diverse communities and a strong sense of pride, evident in the neighbourhood streets.

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Homesick in the Bronx

Despite being homesick while in the Bronx “always wanting to come back home in South Africa”, it was in the American neighbourhood where Selebi learnt to play basketball – a sport he finds time to coach in Johannesburg.

Reliving the past and places in which he has lived, Selebi who left South Africa in 1984 – a year before PW Botha declared a state of emergency – remembered Katlehong as “a very diverse and close community, despite [apartheid] policies of the day”.

Selebi said the Bronx was “a whole different world”.

“It was either you assimilate or stand out like a sore thumb,” he said.

“The language, food, weather, life and the neighbourhood – everything was unlike anything I had ever experienced.”

“Yet, there was a small community of expatriates – a very closeknit community supporting one another in everything.

“Many of us survived the US because of this community.”

Describing the Bronx experience as “a culture shock”, Selebi, who arrived in America at the age of 13, said he “immediately wanted to go back home”.

“I wanted nothing to do with the place, which looked and sounded nothing like what I had been told,” he recalled.

“Culture shock is an understatement.

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“But the community of expats were instrumental in the process of being assimilated in the US.

“Young SA-born kids who lived there became a lifeline, becoming my brothers and sisters – and still are to this day.

“They held my hand and guided me through the assimilation phase.”

Basketball

On his passion for basketball, he said: “I was introduced to the game in US by a gentleman who lived in our apartment building in the Bronx.

“I fell in love with the game but found out that my height was putting me at a disadvantage.

“But I continued to follow the game and tried my hand at it – while playing and excelling in soccer.”

Selebi said in the US, sport was “well developed and has quite a bit of financial support, as well as a mature sport administration culture”.

“In America, sport is used to provide an outlet for many kids and to keep them off the streets,” he said. “In South Africa, we have the opposite – lack of financial support, with sport administration in basketball very immature.

“Due to the South African approach, sport does not really address many social challenges.

“Organisations like the Soweto Basketball Academy are an exception.

“In the US, basketball is for everyone and is accessible, while in SA it is for the financially affluent.”

Despite spending much time in boardrooms, Selebi finds time to coach basketball.

Against a background of a statistical gulf, showing black Africans lagging behind in the actuarial profession, Selebi’s SAADP is in the forefront of a campaign to achieve inclusivity and diversity in the field.

“As a teacher and coach, I am blessed to have had an opportunity to play a small part in the many young people’s lives – helping set up Thuthuka and growing the number of black chartered accountants in the country,” he said.

“Youth development is my passion, with actuarial science an opportunity to ensure that the youth develop and help make this country reach its potential.”

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‘One of the least diverse professions in SA’

Despite progress made in bridging the gap for black actuarial talent, Selebi said the profession remained “one of the least diverse professions in SA”.

Explaining how the actuarial profession struggled to close the colour gap, Selebi said: “Statistics show that the actuarial profession in South Africa continues to lag in diversity, with black African, coloured and Indian actuaries making up less than 30% of the total qualified actuaries.

“This is despite making up the majority of the population.”

On why he regarded his mother Nomaswazi Mokonane as his role model, he said: “She persevered through the most difficult of circumstances to raise me.

“I am where I am because of her.”

Youth development is what drives him.

Educated in South Africa and America, Selebi holds an LLB from University of South Africa, BA sociology from the Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg), BA sociology human relations from Connecticut College (US) and teacher certificate from Connecticut College.

He is currently reading Atomic Habits by James Clear.

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