Munya Vomo
There is no denying that one of South Africa’s most-watched entertainment magazine shows is Selimathunzi.
The show has been around for several years and launched the careers of various young South Africans who are now household names.
It is for this reason that every now and then the show goes back to the people to find a fresh face to join the presenting team of Lunga Shabalala ( pictured) and Zizo Beda.
Timed for the upcoming 13th Metro FM Music Awards (MMAs), the presenter search will look for someone who hails from the KZN area to take up the prestigious post.
The drawcard for the Metro FM Music Awards has increasingly been the black carpet on which the incumbent presenter will be situated. We are talking about prestigious interviews with some top-of-the-food chain characters in the music industry.
“SABC1 is constantly looking for innovative ways to engage our viewers, and with the KZN province hosting us for the 13th MMAs we thought it would be great to showcase the wealth of talent in KZN,” said Dichaba Phalatse, the portfolio marketing manager: entertainment for SABC1.
“This search is the first of its kind and will translate into compelling reality entertain- ment within the Metro FM Music Award offering,” he continued.
The competition is open to anyone aged between 18 and 26 who resides in KZN.
Of importance will be their knowledge of the South African and international music scenes. Hopefuls should be bubbly, inter- view savvy and able to think on their feet.
If you have seen Shabalala and Beda in action and think you can match them, or even do better, then this is the com- petition for you. Those hosts who do well with their brands are the ones sought after as MCs and brand ambassadors.
It is a bit disconcerting that the entrants need be from KZN. It’s almost as if there is something wrong with the rest of the country.
We understand that the show is conducted mostly in Zulu, but what if a fluent Zulu speaker who is perfect for the job is situated in Mpumalanga?
If the same were to have happened on MTV’s VJ Search, Sizwe Dlomo would not have been the winner in his time. He first auditioned in KZN and did not get the job. He then travelled to Joburg where he impressed the judges and now he’s a house- hold name.
We hope that in time anyone from anywhere in the country will be allowed to enter.
Interested entrants should go to the Selimathunzi website at www.seli.co.za, or www. facebook.com/selimathunzi to fill in a form and upload an image or video of themselves.