Five top EC men make finals for Mr SA title
FIVE Eastern Cape men have made it to the top 30 of the Mr South Africa competition.
The competition, with the slogan “Men of Honour”, is a contest that looks to find an ambassador for South Africa – one who exhibits the qualities that set him apart from the average man. A man who has superior qualities – intelligence, commitment, good looks, and a healthy, fit physique.
The Eastern Cape semifinalists are: Mandlonke Mkhiwane from Flagstaff, Khanya Gwele from Qumbu, Aphiwe Nkosimbini from East London, Dingalethu Maphithela from Lusikisiki and Cradock’s Zolisa Nomandla.
The process, which starts out with hundreds of applications, takes about 10 months to complete.
During this time the contestants go through various tasks and challenges in order to assess their abilities, character and drive.
From the hundreds, only those who received most votes made it to the top 50. The next round saw them raising funds for the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa), with a minimum amount of R10 000 expected. Those who managed to raise the minimum and more were selected to be in the top 30. Their current challenge now is to do a random act of kindness for someone and post the pictures on Facebook, tagging the owner of the competition, Rudi Baker.
Gwele said he was not looking for fame but wanted to use the opportunity to grow the brand.
“I entered Mr SA because I want to inspire, teach and educate millions of South Africa citizens to evoke positive change in their lives and in the society. And also use it to highlight social issues close to my heart, which is any form of violence against women and children,” he said, adding that he was also passionate about education.
Nkosimbini said the Mr SA competition was a great platform to inspire young people to be all that they could be and more.
“The nature of the competition is holistic in its approach in identifying young people capable of leading and managing sustainable change in a manner that future generations can be proud of.
“The platform will enable the contestants to engage with a variety of stakeholders in supporting philanthropic initiatives to the benefit of our people.”
Zolisa Nomandla said he wanted to use the opportunity to re-brand himself.
“A title such as Mr South Africa has a lot to offer, but I would like to use this title to inspire others not to give up on themselves, their goals and dreams, and to highlight social issues and problems,” he said.
Mkhiwane said he was passionate about helping other people and seeing them reach their goals.
“When we raised funds Cansa I raised R18 000.
“Working towards something that will change someone else’s life excites me and I am honoured that I could be a part of for this,” he said.
In the next few weeks the top 30 will be cut down to 15 – those who make it will compete for the prestigious title in November. —