No qualifications, no Miss Zim contest
MISS Tourism Zimbabwe hopefuls will have to keep their CVs on standby as organisers of the rebranded pageant only want those with diplomas or degrees.
This was among the cocktail of changes introduced to restore public and corporate confidence back to the pageant by its patron — Barbara Mzembi. The contest which was previously hosted by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority was known as Carnival Queen Zimbabwe.
As she addressed guests at the rebranding launch in Harare on Tuesday, Mzembi, wife to Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi said: “Miss Tourism Zimbabwe is not just about the slim and beautiful girls as we’ve changed the criteria to include a diploma or degree as a requirement.
“We’re not just looking for contestants that are tall and slim, but the Miss Tourism Zimbabwe winner must be eloquent, articulate and be able to market her country well.”
The patron said contestants’ knowledge of the country’s tourism destinations was an added advantage as the winner will be a tourism ambassador.
“The winner will be expected to market the country especially our tourism industry. We also need someone that can be trusted by the tourism industry players to sell the image of Zimbabwean tourism,” Mzembi said.
The patron, who had always been passionate about modelling said she wanted to clean the image of the industry which had been tainted by some models.
“When I took over as patron of the pageant (Miss Carnival Zimbabwe last year), I sat down with people that had been running pageants before. We agreed that the starting point was to bring back public confidence in pageants because in the past, people complained that funds were not being managed properly. Among things which need to be worked on are cases of nude pictures as well as that sponsors have lost confidence,” Mzembi said.
She said they have since come up with a model that will help clean the modelling industry’s image.
“The first thing we need to do is gain the trust of the public as well as the model’s parents so that they allow their children to take part in Miss Tourism Zimbabwe. We also need to make the pageant sustainable and appealing to sponsors.”
She said a five-member committee which has been formed specifically for the Miss Tourism Zimbabwe pageant was yet to meet to deliberate on when the pageant would be held.
“We’re still to meet to draw up a budget and come up with a panel of judges as well as identify communitybased projects that will be run by the pageant.”
Organisers have also roped in auditing and accounting firm, Deloitte, to administer funds of the beauty pageant. The auditing firm will also oversee funds meant for community-based projects targeting the girl child.
“We’ve invited Deloitte to be the custodians of the Miss Tourism Zimbabwe fund. They’ll not only audit the funds, but receive money from sponsors, make payments to service providers and also administer funds that are meant for projects that we’ll be running to help the girl child in different communities.
She assured the public that she would not be corrupt like other pageant organisers.
“We want the public and sponsors to know that everything at Miss Tourism Zimbabwe will be done above board because myself as the patron of the pageant, I’ll never touch that money.”
Despite the hard economic conditions that the country is facing and subsequent reluctance by companies to bankroll beauty pageants, Mzembi is optimistic the rebranded Miss Tourism Zimbabwe will sell itself not only to the corporate world, but to Zimbabweans in general. THE opening of the Private Lounge in Bulawayo has transformed the once quiet part of the city into a hive of activity during the night as most hookers who used to ply their trade between 9th and 14th avenues have shifted base and now operate in the proximity of the new night spot.
Private Lounge is located downtown at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Fife Street. The joint opened its doors with its popular raunchy dancing routines for the first time in the City of Kings and this has brought some momentous shifts in the city’s nightlife.
A snap survey by Sunday Life soon after the launch of the club last week showed that streets leading to the venue have suddenly been graced by parades of nocturnal socialites.
Perhaps buoyed by last year’s landmark ruling by the Constitutional Court which made the arrest of suspected sex workers for loitering an illegal act, suspected hookers have somehow found it easy to shift base.
Previously the concentration of commercial sex workers was mainly confined between 9th and 14th avenues where most nightspots are concentrated.
Men alike have of late been enticed to the new venue as they want to have a snap of the “nude” and erotic dances displayed by new pole dancing in the city.
Harare-based businessman Biggie Chinoperekwei opened the Bulawayo edition of the Private Lounge, which has since become the centre of attraction as most revellers have in the past week been jostling to at least catch a glimpse of the popular erotic dances.
While the ladies of the night could have been attracted to the joint by the number of potential clients who are patronising the new joint, the owners of the place have also put an extra effort in ensuring that it’s attractive.
The old adage which says attracted by the bright city lights came true as hordes of people on the occasion of the launch could be seen thronging the venue to witness the inaugural kick-start of the much-hyped pole dancing.
Bulawayo is also colloquially referred to as Blues and this was true as the bluish rays emitted by the now spectacular beam of rotating flood lights filled the skyline of the city on the top of the one of Bulawayo’s oldest hotels.
Not to be left out are downstream business partners such as taxi drivers, vendors and even criminals as they have opportunely embraced the new baby in town.
Bhekumusa Nhlambelo, a taxi driver who plies his trade around the place said business was now brisk.
“If these people had come a long time ago we could own houses by now. Business is excellent, it cannot be better than this. They know what they are doing,” said Nhlambelo.
Michael Chinyame, a vendor, said it was unbelievable that people were suffering from a cash crisis considering the way they flocked to the new venture.
“I could not believe that there is no money in the country. The manner in which people thronged this place was just unbelievable. There were all sorts of luxurious and executive cars which were parked around this place, to me it’s an indicator that people have money as opposed to what has become the common talk,” he said.
Private Lounge spokesperson Tatenda Gwatidzo said they were not worried about the competition posed by other nightspots.
“We are not really worried about how other clubs are doing because we are having our own concepts which we are building our clientele base around. We are strictly a strip club that offers an adult form of entertainment that is not found anywhere else in Zimbabwe,” said Gwatidzo.
Gwatidzo said pole dancing was introduced in the country about five years ago.
“We started doing it slowly because we are a conservative society and now we are on expansion drive to bring it the four corners of the country. But when you go to places like South Africa, you will meet a lot of Zimbabweans in such places which shows that people like the acts,” he said.
He added: “Basically pole dancing is self-defining. There are certain routines girls do using the pole while they are wearing lingerie and in some instances they will be off the pole.”