His thirst for knowledge led him to news desk
"WHEN I was in primary school, I picked up a 50c coin by the roadside. I didn't buy sweets like most of my friends would have, instead, I was so delighted that I had money to buy myself a newspaper," says Musa Basson Mabunda.
Ntsako Mabunda
LIMPOPO – “WHEN I was in primary school, I picked up a 50c coin by the roadside. I didn’t buy sweets like most of my friends would have, instead, I was so delighted that I had money to buy myself a newspaper,” says Musa Basson Mabunda.
Mabunda from Namakgale township in Phalaborwa is a Xitsonga newsreader and bulletin producer for SABC news.
The only chance he had of reading the daily newspaper was when his oldest brother returned from university during the school holidays.
His love for the news was always unusual, watching all the news bulletins on TV with his father and translating the Afrikaans bulletins for him.
“I had a thirst for knowledge. I was that inquisitive child who wanted to know everything,” he says.
His brother is also the person who bought him a lawnmower when he sought a way to earn pocket money in high school.
“My friend and I went door-to-door during weekends and holidays offering our services.”
After studying Journalism through correspondence, he got his first job at SABC’s regional office in Polokwane as producer for the current affairs show, Tiko a xi Etleli and eventually become a newsreader.
He was awarded as best newsreader at the staff awards in 2003. He then moved to SABC head office in Auckland Park to begin his TV news career.
He’s quick to dispel the notion that his job is only for 30 minutes, explaining how his day starts early in the morning with meetings to discuss the main stories of the day, selecting the leading stories, compiling the story, translating, compiling and much more.
Mabunda, who is often called to motivate learners in schools, wishes young people would also be hungry for knowledge and take advantage of the information age we live in and spend more time searching for information online than texting their friends.
