Johannesburg - Ten of Mzansi’s most beautiful women have been announced as this year’s pick for the prestigious Miss SA beauty pageant.
Bianca Bezuidenhout, 22, Catherine Groenewald 23, Cheneil Hartzenberg, 24, Jeanni Mulder, 24, Kaylan Matthews, 25, Kgothatso Dithebe, Lalela Mswane, 24, Moratwe Masima, 25, Tiffany Francis, 22, and Zimi Mabunzi, 26, are all in the running for the coveted Miss SA title.
This year’s contestants represent four provinces: Gauteng has four, followed by the Western Cape with three, the Eastern Cape with two and KwaZulu-Natal with one entrant.
The impressive group include a medical doctor working on the Covid-19 front line, a commercial pilot, owners of a model agency, swimwear company and an online bakery, legal graduates and students.
Mswane, from KwaSokhulu, Richards Bay, said her key focus was on unemployment, a sore point for many young people of Mzansi.
“With my campaign, I have introduced an idea that I think has always been a missing link in how we need to merge education and skill to match the average citizen,” she said.
“I would like for our country to start improving our school system structure so that it can accommodate the candidates that have alternative skills. Skills such as agricultural skills and artistic skills. If we can weave this element into the education system then I think we can close some of the existing gap that is there between poverty and unemployment in South Africa.”
The supermodel has a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Pretoria and is a dancer.
Being from KZN, Mswane said the recent unrest had been unsettling for her and she hoped the tide would turn for the better in her hometown.
“I think the events from last month were so ugly and no one can deny or defend the violence we witnessed. It’s great to be passionate and to have direction but there needs to be a line to everything.
“Protests are a great way of effecting change and moving conversations of concern forward but looting and burning of things especially local businesses is unacceptable,” she said.
“I really hope we learnt something and I think it is important for the government to also learn even more from these events because personally I never want our nation to experience that kind of chaos and disturbance.”
With the contestants voted for by followers, Mswane reckons she was picked because of her easygoing and fun personality.
“I look at the profile I have built before entering the competition and look at how people perceive me now and I just want people to know that I am a total goof-ball who loves people and accepts them for who they are,” she said.
The 62nd edition of the Miss SA pageant will be held in the Mother City on Saturday, October 16 – live from Grand West Arena. The Top 3 will go on to represent the country at the world’s three most prestigious pageants, Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss Supranational.
The Star