The General’s wife, Mary Chiwenga is fuming after she was snubbed by Tourism Minister, Walter Mzembi whose ministry is now supporting his wife’s Miss Tourism Zimbabwe.
Miss Zimbabwe Trust spokesperson Tendai Chirau said they had been trying to get the Tourism Ministry on board for three years. “We welcome the new pageant but there are some irregularities here. The Ministry of Tourism has never supported Miss Zimbabwe since we took over. What is the need for a second pageant when we can join forces and produce something bigger and better?
“Who is tourism in this country? Tourism is Walter (Minister Mzembi). Now we have his wife running that pageant with the full backing of the ZTA, itself, an arm of the ministry,” said Chirau.
Last week, Barbara Mzembi announced her arrival on the modelling scene with the rebranding of Miss Carnival to Miss Tourism Zimbabwe.
She has moved from being the patron of a pageant to actually running one. Last week, Karikoga Kaseke, in his capacity as the ZTA chief, donated US$10 000 to Barbara Mzembi’s pageant.
“We run Miss Zimbabwe, the flagship of the country’s modelling industry, and surely we are entitled to such funds. They should not be for certain pageants only,” said Chirau.
Barbara Mzembi says her project is different. “Miss Tourism Zimbabwe is completely different from other pageants. We want a real ambassador who can market Zimbabwe and that person should be a holder of a higher education qualification like a higher diploma or degree in tourism or a related field. We are looking for ladies who can articulate themselves, who can market Zimbabwe, we are looking for beauty with brains,” she said.
So far we are saying the winner will travel the world and that exposure is something because she will go to at least six countries to participate in their tourism events marketing Zimbabwe and not just sit in the stands like a flower vessel.
“Last year I sat with different parties who used to run pageants and asked them about the problems and they told me they are not getting girls of the quality they want and accordingly I raised the standards. If we are not getting a lady out there who can go and market Zimbabwe then we are not doing the right thing.
“… our models or the nominees are not the standard models that other pageants are looking for. She will be Miss Tourism Zimbabwe but in actual fact she is the tourism ambassador. I want Miss Tourism Zimbabwe to be the dream of every girl.”
There is likely to be a duplication of roles between Miss World Zimbabwe and Miss Tourism Zimbabwe title holders. The Miss World Zimbabwe selects a delegate for the Miss World competition. She and the First and Second Princesses are also supposed to compete in events to do with Brand Zimbabwe promotion within and outside the country.
1 Comment