Locals rescue pageant
MBOMBELA - The private sector saved the day after provincial government did not honour their promises to support an international beauty pageant being held on local soil.
The Miss and Mister Deaf World and Europe and Asia competition is being held in the province this week. Organisers Jacques Lombard and Zané Jansen van Rensburg thanked local businesses for the effort they put in to uphold the standards of the pageant, after the Office of the Premier (OTP) pulled out at the 11th hour.
Despite constant negotiations and promises from provincial government, OTP informed Lombard and Jansen van Rensburg in a letter on Friday that they would not be supporting the international event.
This is the first time in the competition’s 19-year history that it is being held outside Prague.
Contestants from 16 countries started arriving in Mbombela on Friday.
“Our biggest goal was to uplift our province and show the world what we are made of,” Lombard and Jansen van Rensburg explained.
In February, Lombard acquired the licence to host the competition here, as he is well known in pageant circles across the world.
Immediately after he received the licence, Lombard roped in Jansen van Rensburg, who has been the production coordinator for all his previous, events including Mrs Mpumalanga.
On April 4 they hand-delivered invitations to collaborate on the project to various government entities including the OTP, the Department of Social Development, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the Department of Culture, Sports and Recreation as well as the Mbombela and Ehlanzeni municipalities.
“This was a huge opportunity for tourism, not to mention the job creation in various sectors that it could have led to, the economic and social empowerment and above all the educational aspect. We want to show that people who are deaf are employable and are so much more than just their disability,” a disheartened Lombard said.
“We worked so hard and for so long to get the world here and this is the support we get,” Jansen van Rensburg commented.
On April 30, the first meetings with provincial government sectors were held. They told provincial government, including the director-general and deputy directorgeneral at the OTP, that their presentation was of such a nature that tourism would benefit the most.
They were allegedly told that “the way forward is an internal discussion with the premier”.
After the meeting Lombard and Jansen van Rensburg were allegedly told that they needed to be patient as government prepared for the elections as well as the inauguration of the premier.
IDP Nkambule from social development, who reached out to them first on June 20 and, in a meeting with the team from the department, asked them to shift their focus to a social angle.
On June 30 they were summoned to the home of the HOD of social development, Mxolisi Vincent Mahlalela, who wanted to speak to them about the project.
By this time Lombard and Jansen van Rensburg had already had offers to host the pageant in Gauteng, but on the promise of the HOD that government would commit to the competition, they turned them down.
On July 1, Lombard received a message from the HOD that read, “In principle approval. We will confirm in writing from the Office of the Premier”.
During various discussions with government, the organisers were requested to include extra cocktail parties with the premier and a red carpet event.
Following the government’s failure to commit, the whole programme and budget had to be changed at the very last minute.
During the negotiations, Lombard was approached by the Department of Social Development, which asked that he include Lucia Ochan, the current Mrs Africa Globe and ambassador of the department.
Lombard alleged that when he and Ochan met, she asked “what the department would be getting out of a deal like this”. This led to him allegedly offering the department between 15 and 20 per cent of the proceeds, which is not uncommon in pageants. After that Ochan allegedly contacted him and said that it is “40 per cent or nothing” and that Lombard would not have a chance with provincial government if it was not for her.
According to Ochan, these allegations are false and are “very serious and defamatory”.
“I was approached by Lombard very late on July 1 to assist him in hosting Miss and Mister Deaf World and Europe and Asia and to raise funds from different stakeholders, including government because of my profile and the work I do.”
Lowvelder sent enquiries concerning all the allegations to the various departments. The spokesman for the OTP, Sibongile Mpolweni, responded by saying that government could not assist due to “short notice”.
Notwithstanding the short notice, provincial government sent senior managers to convene an urgent meeting with the Department of International Relations and Cooperation as is the norm with international events.
“Noting that government was not the initiator of the event, the province was advised to classify the event as a private sector initiative and advised that the organisers needed to at least alert the embassies of the respective countries which they could not confirm.
“The provincial government attempted to consider the matter by allowing a presentation to be made to a technical committee prior to the matter being referred to cabinet, unfortunately it was too late. It is with regret that due to such short notice, the provincial government could not endorse this spectacular event as it was not in our plans and therefore not budgeted for.”
The crowning of Miss and Mister Deaf World and Europe and Asia will be held on Friday at Communio Church. Tickets are available from Ticketpro at R150.
The following private-sector role players contributed to the pageant so far:
SANParks, LimeTime Shuttle, Mercure, Winkler, Panarottis, Salsa Mexican
Grill, Kwanyoni Lodge, Hoërskool Nelspruit, Tindlovu, Sandra Jacobs, Swift Electrical, Lowveld National Botanical Garden, Ambassador Foods, Mugg and Bean Lower Sabie, ECoaches, Glassfit, Naledi Zwane, Communio Church, AVS, Timeless Financial Consultants, RampsTo-Runway, Creative Brains, Two Red Pens, Gemla Holdings, Aspirations
Decor Hire, Touch Of Glamour, Ronel Maree, Ladz Couture, Mrs Mpumalanga, The Treatment Room, Hotel Numbi and Garden Suites as part of Hazyview Hospitality Group.
What about tourism?
According to Lombard and Jansen van Rensburg, one of their main focuses would be promoting tourism. Former KLCBT president, Oupa Pilane, said on Facebook on Friday that tourism in Mpumalanga is a failing industry. “We have concluded the Southern African Tourism Services association conference in KwaZulu-Natal. While the proceedings went well, unfortunately the same cannot be said about Mpumalanga Tourism. The perception among the 300 delegates that were in the conference is that Mpumalanga Tourism is in a mess and that we are a joke,” Pilane said.
In their original pitch to the various sectors, Lombard and Jansen van Rensburg said “contestants and their entourage will experience the beauty and culture of Mpumalanga’s landscape and its people”. With funding from the government, they planned to take contestants on tours through the province to promote it where contestants would do Facebook Live videos that showcase the province.