happiness Chikwanha
Arts Reporter
Africa’s need to claim its space in the global broadcasting industry is the background for a new documentary screening on DStv in June.
MultiChoice Zimbabwe corporate affairs and public relations head Charity Njanji said Yes To Impossible: The Nolo Letele Story was a documentary about the life of former MultiChoice group executive chair Nolo Letele, an inspiring tale of possibilities and opportunities.
“The story is all about Nolo’s efforts to achieve success and a recognition of how we can all make a difference through pursuing our goals with determination,” she said.
The documentary launches on M-Net channel 102 on Thursday June 13, with a premiere screening at 9pm. It will then have further screenings on Mzansi Wethu at 9pm on Friday June 14 and on Mzansi Magic at 9.30pm on Monday June 17.
“The documentary shows how growing up in an era when the spirit of freedom was sweeping across Africa shaped Letele’s vision for the continent to have its own voice and how he worked tirelessly to realise this vision,” said Njanji.
“Linked to the growth of the African broadcast industry is Nolo’s unceasing endeavor, his passion for African storytelling and his relentless commitment to excellence.”
After studying electronic engineering at the University of Southampton and later becoming a chartered engineer, Letele applied for jobs in South Africa, only to find there were hardly any positions for a black electronics graduate in 1974. He found a post in the Lesotho National Broadcasting Service and subsequently played a major role helping to start the first television service in Lesotho in conjunction with M-Net in 1988.
Having established his credentials, he was asked by Naspers CEO Koos Burger to join M-Net in 1990, something he describes it as “being thrown in the deep end.” His task was helping build DStv into the juggernaut it has become today.
In spite of South Africa’s image during those apartheid years, Letele succeeded in pioneering MultiChoice’s expansion into the rest of Africa and in 1995 he served in Ghana as West African regional general manager. He returned home when he was appointed chief executive of MultiChoice South Africa a few years later.
In 1999 he was appointed MultiChoice group chief executive, a post he held until 2010, when he became executive chair of the MultiChoice South Africa Holdings board for 11 years. He became a non-executive director of MultiChoice Group Limited after the company was spun out of Naspers and listed independently on the JSE.
Letele received several awards during his tenure at MultiChoice, including a Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize for Media Development in Africa, the Naspers Phil Weber Award and the Black Business Executive Circle Chairman’s Award.
In addition to the three launch screenings, the documentary will have repeats across many channels and will also be available on DStv Catch Up, DStv Stream and Showmax.
“It is an inspiring story and one that will show viewers in all fields of endeavor how a spirit of ‘can do’ will change everything in life,” said Njanji.
Online Reporter