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Former SABC presenter Phumzile Zonke on juggling single parenting, work and a master’s degree

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Former SABC 1 presenter Phumzile Zonke graduates. (PHOTO: INSTAGRAM)
Former SABC 1 presenter Phumzile Zonke graduates. (PHOTO: INSTAGRAM)

The graduation season is in full swing and among those walking across the stage in front academics is SABC 1 Head of Channel Phumzile Zonke.

He tells Move! that it’s been a rough ride for him. He had to juggle school, parenting and work.

“It is rough and difficult because you never have time for yourself,” he admits.

The father-of-one says his schedule was quite busy in the past two years while he was pursuing his qualification.

“I had to get up at 5 AM and prepare my nine-year-old daughter for school, then I had to be at work by 8 AM and then run to fetch my daughter from her school at 5 PM,” he explains.

“It affected my relationships because I couldn’t go out as often as I would have liked,” he says.

He says doing all this juggling had an emotional impact.

“I was an emotional wreck at times. You need to walk into this knowing. It affects you as a parent as well. However, I had to constantly remind my daughter why I was doing this. It’s a sacrifice I had to make,” he shares.


He says that he will be doing his PhD next year because he’s interested in academia.

Phumzile is currently SABC1 head of channel and is enjoying it.

“It’s a difficult job because there’s a lot responsibility and accountability. There are expectations that I can’t afford to fail. It’s a channel that is fun to work with. I worked for the channel since I was young as a presenter. People know you by name and not just an employee number,” he says.

 

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