2022 brought with it the revival of a reality television fan-favourite in the form of Big Brother Mzansi (BBMzansi) and the show seems to be a smash hit on social media.

The show began trending from the second the premiere episode aired on Sunday evening and it continued trending well into Monday.

The show’s new host, Lawrence Maleka, also seems to be part of the reason fans are so enamoured with the show. Maleka was recently unveiled as the show’s host, taking over from Lungile Radu.

Big Brother Mzansi is the modern version of Big Brother South Africa, which first aired in South Africa in 2001. The live shows back then were hosted by TV legends Mark Pilgrim, Gerry Rantseli (now Gerry Elsdon) and Zuraida Jardine.

After 13 years, the show rebranded as Big Brother Mzansi, with Radu in the driver’s seat as the show’s host.

Maleka is the new face billed to usher in a new era of Big Brother, which unveiled an interesting set of housemates on Sunday evening.

Meet the Big Brother Mzansi housemates:

Gugu Refiloe Bonga, aka Terry Treasure, is a 26-year-old from Johannesburg. Terry says she is honest almost to her own detriment. The OnlyFans adult content creator says she has a very big personality and stands for acceptance and non-judgment. She doesn’t like fake people and considers herself to be very open.

Big Brother Mzansi 2022 housemates: Terry Treasure | Picture: Supplied
Adindu Asuzu, aka Zino, is a 21-year-old from Johannesburg who is self-confessed mommy’s boy. This season’s youngest housemate describes himself as both bubbly and mellow. He reckons he won’t start drama – but will be the one to end it. He says his Nigerian side won’t let people take advantage of him.

Keamogetswe Motlhale, aka QV, is a 23-year-old from Mahikeng. Self-described as easy-going, Keamogetswe is a sharp-shooter and straight talker. She says she has no interest in keeping her annoyance to herself when someone gets on her wrong side. She describes herself as a tomboy.

Libo Njomba, aka Libo, is a 32-year-old from Johannesburg. Born in Uitenhage, Libo says he is an avid lover of life who enjoys the outdoors. He says people are his weakness and, as a result, he tends to befriend “strange characters” – but also considers himself a loner.

Gashwan Brandon Mthombeni, aka Gash1, is a 28-year-old from Pretoria. Having overcome a troubled past, Gashwan describes himself as a deep thinker with varied interests and talents. He’s deeply spiritual and enjoys giving people advice and motivation.

Luthando Mthembu, aka B.U, is a 31-year-old from Johannesburg. The aspiring musician says one of the highlights of his life was quitting his high-flying corporate job to follow his artistic dreams. A vegan, he is focused on centering himself.

Mvelo Ntuli, aka Mvelo, is a 28-year-old from Johannesburg. Describing himself as loud and lovable, Mvelo is a lover of people and passionate about education. Bubbly and candid, he hides a more complex side behind his infectious humour.

Naledi Mogadime, aka Nale, is a 24-year-old from Pretoria. A self-described “fine gyal, not a sad gyal”, the model is as much a firecracker as she is calm and zen. She considers her ability to understand and analyse people her strength. Naledi predicts that she might not be everyone’s cup of tea in the beginning of her time at the Big Brother Mzansi house.

Michelle Dimpho Mvundla, aka Mphowabadimo, is a 27-year-old from Daveyton. The sangoma describes herself as outgoing and kind, but says she has “zero tolerance for nonsense”. She is also a doting mom who considers herself to be a nurturer who loves cheering people up when they’re not feeling their best.

Norman Nhlapo is a 24-year-old from Johannesburg. The daycare worker says he has an adaptable personality and is a sporty person. Despite a tough upbringing, he says his life has been a “bundle of blessings”. He runs a non-profit organisation and daycare with his mother.

Rethabile Potsane, aka Dinkybliss, is a 29-year-old from Johannesburg. Rethabile describes herself as “loud and proud” and says she can transform people’s moods and lift spirits when she is around. More of a boys’ girl than a girls’ girl, she enjoys socialising and loves fashion.

Thando Mcopela, aka Acacia, is a 30-year-old Soweto resident who is family orientated and describes herself as a free spirit and a risk-taker. She also says she is a foodie who loves community and togetherness. She considers herself relatable and is as comfortable ekasi as she is in upmarket suburbs.

Tulani Madala, aka Tulz, is a 28-year-old radio DJ from Johannesburg. The velvet-voiced straight-shooter says he has a softness beneath his tough exterior. He also says he is currently single because he was “badly behaved” in the heyday of his career.

Thato Mokoena is a 28-year-old from the Vaal who says she is not one to limit herself. Thato is an accountant and TikToker who describes herself as a “world within worlds”. Bubbly and energetic, she’s bluntly honest and is comfortable with her transparent nature.

Themba Karabo Mabaso is a 30-year-old heavily-inked tattoo artist from Johannesburg. He describes himself as “simple”, “basic” and “normal”, and says despite his attention-grabbing looks, he doesn’t actively seek the spotlight. And yet he is a housemate on Big Brother Mzansi…

Thobeka Mtshali, aka Venus, is a 25-year-old from Richards Bay. In her own words, when it comes to her “you just never know what you’re gonna get”. She says she embodies creativity as she writes music, makes beats and plays the piano. She considers herself to be a layered person.

Ukho Samela, aka Sis Tamara, is a 25-year-old from Johannesburg. The multifaceted and bubbly Ukho goes by the pronouns he/ him/ she/ her/ they/ them. Known as “Sis Tamara”, they describe themselves as “a gender non-conforming experience”. They are also passionate about trans and queer representation.

Yolanda Glover, aka Yoli, is a 30-year-old from Durban who says she is outgoing and effervescent and describes herself as “Berocca without the medicine”. She loves being around people and says they are drawn to her infectious energy. She can sometimes be too honest and upfront and says she’s an open book.

There is also a daily highlight show on Mzansi Magic (DStv channel 161), Tuesdays to Fridays, starting on 25 January 2022 at 10:30pm.

Sunday eviction shows begin on 30 January at 6pm and will be broadcast on Mzansi Magic.

This season will also see the return of fan favourite segments such as Shower Hour at 10pm on Mondays to Thursdays on Mzansi Magic, Saturday night parties with Channel O (DStv channel 320) and Friday night games.

It has been 24 years since the untimely demise of the late Dr Hilla Limann, president of the 3rd Republic of Ghana. In a philanthropic move to mark the occasion, the Hilla Limann Foundation led by the daughter of the late former president, Dr Zilla Limann donated some items to the Tamale children’s home in the Northern region.

Speaking to reporters who covered the event, Dr Zilla Limann reiterated the resolve of the Hilla Limann Foundation to preserve the legacy of the late former president who was a philanthropist,  hence the decision of the foundation to embark on this donation exercise. It was her hope that the children’s home will benefit from the donation which she believes with alleviate some of their plight.

Dr Hilla Limann was the president of the 3rd Republic of Ghana from 1979 to 1981. He was unceremoniously toppled by a military junta led by the late Jerry John Rawlings.  The administration of the late Dr Hilla Limann is best remembered for being able to diffuse an economic blockade that devastated the economy of Ghana in 1979 and led the country back on track. Under the administration of the Late Dr Limann, the country gradually gained its respect back in the eyes of the international community and soon was able to attract in foreign investors into the country.

Dr Limann died on the 23rd of January, 1998. He left behind a wife and 7 children.

A new report released today by UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics and the Global Education Monitoring Report finds that, according to their own benchmarks, countries will not achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030.This is a wakeup call for the world’s leaders as millions of children will continue to miss out on school and high-quality learning.

The report, National SDG 4 benchmarks: fulfilling our commitments, compiles the findings from the culmination of a two-year global process convened by UNESCO. Participating countries identified their targets for 2025 and 2030 relative to six key SDG 4 indicators on: early childhood education attendance; school attendance; completion; minimum proficiency in reading and mathematics; trained teachers; and public education expenditure. The commitment made was to accelerate progress between now and the deadline relative to the rate countries achieved from 2000-2015. The findings show that even if countries reach their benchmarks, the world will still fall short of the ambition set out in SDG 4. This is even before taking into account the potential consequences of COVID-19 on education development.

“It is a real step forward that some two-thirds of countries are realistically assessing their chances of achieving the SDG 4 goals. It is critical that nations hold themselves accountable to their commitments for their children. However, almost halfway to our deadline, the process has shown that, even by their own assessment, most countries are not expected to get close to the 2030 goal,” said Silvia Montoya, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. “The next step must be to encourage all countries to submit benchmarks and determine which policies to prioritise before 2030.”

The report shows that according to their own measures, Latin America and the Caribbean and Central and Southern Asia are on course to achieve universal early childhood education. Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and Western Asia will not achieve this goal, where it is estimated that roughly two in three children will be enrolled in early childhood education by 2030 (up from less than half currently).

According to their plans, all regions will meet or be very close to achieving universal primary education. Challenges will remain in sub-Saharan Africa where 8% of children of primary school age are still predicted to be out of school in 2030 (down from 19% currently).

By 2030, countries in sub-Saharan Africa expect to be able to achieve a reduction in the rate of out-of-school upper secondary age youth from 47% to 32%; those in Central and Southern Asia expect to reduce their rate from 32% to 17%. In North Africa and Western Asia, the benchmarks show that countries believe they can reduce the rate from 28% to 14% and from 19% to 11% in Latin America and the Caribbean. The process has delivered a reality check with regards to the goal of universal completion of secondary education by 2030, which no region is on track to achieve. Completion rates are expected to land at 89% at lower secondary and 72% at the upper secondary level by the deadline.

Countries are the least confident about the ability to accelerate progress in mathematics skills: by 2030, globally, benchmarks show that an expected 26% will still not be able to do basic mathematics in the early grades, 32% at the end of primary and 34% at the end of lower secondary.

The percentage of trained teachers is expected to increase between 2015 and 2030 to over 90% in each level of education. The fastest growth is expected at the pre-primary education level, from 70% to 94%. Still, by the deadline, countries in sub-Saharan Africa expect that, despite their best efforts, over a quarter of teachers at the pre-primary level will remain untrained.

“These nationally determined targets do not yet take into account the possible impact of COVID-19 on education which we know has significantly slowed down and may have even rolled back progress on education. It is also troubling that a fifth of countries do not have plans with targets, so there is still work to do before a full realistic picture of where we aim to be by 2030 is available,” added Manos Antoninis, Director of the Global Education Monitoring Report.

The current benchmarks will be reviewed in 2022 to see if countries deem a significant revision of expectations as a result of COVID-19 school closures is necessary.

Notes to editors