Newsday journalist schools politicians

Staff Reporters

Newsday journalist, Tumelo Taole, scooped first prize at a spelling bee competition, which pitted journalists against politicians at Lehakoe Club last Friday night.

Other winners came from Bokamoso FM and Socialist Revolutionaries (SR) in second and third place, respectively.

The competition, which was organised by the Spelling Bee Association of Lesotho, was part of the association’s efforts towards raising funds for literacy programs in primary and high schools.

The theme of the competition was Back to School, and all participants were wearing school uniforms.

Taole walked away with a gold trophy for being the overall winner.

Other Newsday journalists who participated in the competition were Sekete Lesaoana and Neo Matheka.

Speaking on his amazing win, Taole said he enjoyed himself while getting one over the politicians, although it was not smooth sailing.

He congratulated the Spelling Bee Association of Lesotho for putting together a successful event.

“The spelling bee competition was a success overall. It was good to see both media practitioners and politicians having so much fun under one roof, for a change,” Taole said.

“The judges threw some challenging words towards the end but, with the support from my team and the floor, I managed to get the number one spot.”

He feels there is a need for more competitions like this.

“We need more initiatives like this. However, there is still room for improvement from the organising parties. From proper marketing to making sure contestants and the audience understand the rules of the game.”

Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Thuto Ntšekhe Mokhele indicated that what the association is doing is improving the reading and writing skills of students in primary and high schools by hosting friendly competitions which enable students to have a good vocabulary.

On his part, Teboho Moneri from the Ministry of Education, applauded the association indicating that these competitions should be hosted frequently.

The panel of judges for the competition comprised Palesa Ntakatsane, Bishop Monaheng Sekese, and ‘Mabohlokoa Sojane.

Eeconet Telecom Lesotho (ETL) and Lesotho PostBank were the sponsors of the event.

“Congratulations to Tumelo Taole, the winner of the Spelling Bee Foundation’s spelling bee between journalists and politicians,” ETL said on Twitter.

“Ntate Taole is a representative of Newsday, whose journalists took home the winning prize. Well done to all the participants,” it added.