Bongani Bingwa who has been with M-Net's (DStv 101) Carte Blanche for 11 years, has finally cut ties with the Combined Artistic Productions show.
He continued making appearances on Carte Blanche the past few months despite joining Primedia's 702 radio station in July 2017 for a regular presenter slot that made him less available to travel and film inserts, but despite joining the SABC he's just dropping Carte Blanche and will continue with his radio show.
The SABC says Bongani Bingwa will co-host the 18:00 to 21:00 timeslot on SABC News next to Francis Herd, starting from Monday 12 March.
This will include doing the SABC's flagship English TV news bulletin at 21:00 that is being simulcast on SABC3 in that channel's new, later news timeslot since the start of February.
"As part of our continued efforts to stay relevant in the highly dynamic and competitive broadcasting space, it is crucial that we recruit the best talent that will deliver cutting-edge news and current affairs programmes which are well researched, balanced and fair," says Phathiswa Magopeni, the SABC's new head of news and current affairs, about Bongani Bingwa's hire.
The SABC says Bongani Bingwa brings to the public broadcaster a wealth of knowledge in journalism for both radio and television news and current affairs.
Bongani Bingwa says "I am excited to be part of the changes at the SABC and to join a team that will be creating a new legacy for the public broadcaster".
Meanwhile Peter Ndoro, fresh back on SABC News after taking time to "rest" following botched news reading attempts in January and February involving new president Cyril Ramaphosa, is gone from the public broadcaster's prime time perch and the SABC's most prestigious news position. He's been moved to anchoring on the SABC News channel in the afternoons between 15:00 and 18:00.
Bongani Bingwa's new anchor job creates some awkwardness for Carte Blanche that's reaching its 30th anniversary in August on M-Net as South Africa's longest running investigative magazine show.
As one of the longest serving Carte Blanche faces, his on-screen absence come August detracts from the collective number of years of on-air experience the existing presenters pool will be able to boast about when celebrating the venerable show's big birthday in a few months' time.
M-Net tells TVwithThinus that "as Bongani will be anchoring news on SABC, he will not be able to stay on as a Carte Blanche presenter".
"Bongani has been a great asset to Carte Blanche since starting his television journalism career with M-Net's multiple award-winning current affairs programme a decade ago. We are proud of his achievements and would like to thank him for his contribution to Carte Blanche over the years."
