Lerato Mbele 

‘umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu’*

LERATO MBELE has the business of news presentation taped. Her no-nonsense and personable demeanor, coupled with good looks, makes Lerato a breath of fresh air on South African television. With SABC dishing up such fine fare it’s no wonder that CNN and BBC keep scooping up our most talented news readers.

It’s her passion for African Development that has geared her studies in Political Science and International Relations towards a focus on Africa’s role in world affairs. Her work in the media reflects this fascination with the African condition. Her early years as a broadcaster were spent at SAfm, then SABC Africa where she conceptualised and anchored a current affairs programme dealing specifically with diplomatic issues facing Africa. A break from broadcasting saw Lerato move to the United Kingdom, where she obtained a Masters degree in Development Studies from the University of London.

”I miss my Alma Mater, the School of Oriental and African Studies, for its unconventional take on world affairs. There I learnt to think outside the box, and to always question things people say is the rule of thumb. My living arrangements tested me even more! Here I was a convent-educated African girl, sharing a flat with a marijuana-smoking Italian, a moderately Muslim Kurd, an all-true Californian babe and a young man from Essex prone to correcting our English. Having survived each other’s idiosyncrasies (and I am guilty of many), I’m sure we will make for responsible global citizens.“

Nonetheless, she still believed that the media was the most useful platform on which to promote debate and learning about the circumstances of societies on this continent. So it was natural that she eventually made a return to broadcasting. But this was preceded by a stint at the SA Institute of International Affairs, as Head of a project dealing with the promotion of Democracy in Africa. At this time, Lerato also took on the challenge of being a monthly columnist at City Press where she used the print media to again further discussions on African Affairs.

Now that she is producer and news-anchor for News@22:00 and host of current affairs show In the Public Interest on SABC3, Lerato sees her role as slightly different and more challenging. Because the audience is mainly South African, she has had to shift her thinking to a perspective that is quite localised. Her interests have inspired the African and global content on News@22:00. The intention of Lerato and the team is to cover South Africa in a way that honestly reflects the current situation within a global context. In the Public Interest provides a platform for role-players in the media to debate critical issues around the news coverage of the week.

She confesses to being a bit of a long-dinner-and-cigar-lounge kind of girl who enjoys the British acid-jazz group Incognito and local theatre. While enjoying all things natural, she has a serious bend for fauna and flora.

Her future plans will definitely have something to do with the media, but where and what, Lerato says, it’s still early days to tell.

*a person is a person through others

”I’ve had a cosmopolitan experience in the United Kingdom - I don’t believe it has made me whole, but it has made me richer and has most definitely brought me closer to that ideal.“