Gorgeous Gugulethu is Germiston’s Miss SA hope

Germiston can boast a gorgeous resident who stands a chance of wearing the Miss South Africa crown.

Gugulethu Banda (21), from Spruitview, is among the 24 semi-finalists in the Miss South Africa 2015 competition, who were announced on Thursday.

The young woman is currently studying towards a BA in tourism development at the University of Johannesburg and is in her first year of study.

“The reason I enrolled for this particular qualification is because of my love for travel and tourism,” she said.

“I aspire to be a part of the South African tourism industry and be a business woman in that field.

“I want to contribute towards making South Africa’s tourism sector bigger than it already is.

“I am also working part time as a Wing team member for Redbull.”

Gugulethu said the reason she wants to be Miss South Africa is because she strongly believes in beauty pageants being a representation of a woman’s inner and outer beauty.

“Miss South Africa should inspire and empower women, both young and old, as well as represent her country in the best possible way.

“I could do exactly that if given the platform,” she said.

She added that a previous Miss SA who has inspired her is Basetsana Kumalo.

“During her reign she used the platform as a stepping stone to build herself as a woman and a brand.

“Today she is one of South Africa’s most successful women and that alone inspires me,” Gugulethu said.

“I am working towards being a successful businesswoman and she is my role model.

“Melinda Bam is also an inspiration.

“She brought authenticity to the Miss South Africa Pageant without having a pageant queen background.

“I can relate to that.

“She is a hard worker and one of my favourite people.”

Another of the people Gugulethu sees as a role model is her mother, Pshengisile Ida.

She is supportive of everything the young woman does and instils positivity in her.

“She knows what to say and when to say it,” Gugulethu explained.

“She motivates me to do everything I want to do to the best of my ability.”

Pshengisile is family-orientated and loves cooking and doing chores around the house.

“She puts her family first and my father, Restin, was exactly like my mother before he passed away earlier this year,” Gugulethu said.

“I have two older brothers, Mzamo is 27, self-employed and lives in Mpumalanga, while Sbongiseni is 29 and works for SASA as an administrative clerk.

“My mother is a secretary at a company of attorneys.”

In her spare time Gugulethu has a part-time job which takes up most of her time, otherwise she enjoys reading magazines, listening to music and spending time with her family and friends.

Currently, she is reading The Apple of his Eye, by JoAnne Simmons, a book given to her by her best friend for her birthday this year.

With regard to music, Gugulethu said: “I listen to different genres of music.

“I like hip hop, house music and slow jams.

“My most played album, is Souled Out, by Jhene Aiko.”

Her taste in television programmes runs to reality shows and crime programmes.

Her current favourite show is Cooking with Siba and she loves to eat pasta and sushi.

The two things that would surprise people about her is the fact that she is actually very shy and that she is a bad dancer.

Gugulethu has the following message for young girls and young women in South Africa: “We are very privileged to have been given the ability, as well as the opportunities, to be exactly what we want to be.

“With that said, anything is possible when you have a positive mind-set to match the capacity of your dreams.”

If she takes home the title of Miss South Africa 2015 on March 29, next year, Gugulethu would love to meet Basetsana Khumalo.

“I would like to sit down with her and take notes as to how she got to where she is today,” she said.

“She inspires me to work harder in order to be the woman I want to be.”

The 10 finalists in the competition will be revealed early next year.