Reigning Miss Zimbabwe Bongani Dlakama has implored Kiki Divaris’ new team to make sure that they improve the running of the pageant.
Report by Silence Charumbira
The Bulawayo-based beauty who had a miserable reign characterised by waiting for months for her prizes and paying for some of her expenses at the world stage told Standardlife&style that she has not heard from the pageant organisers for a long time.
“I last saw Kiki at Miss G-Tel Face of Zimbabwe in December last year and that was the last time I communicated with anyone with something to do with the pageant,” she said.
“I just read in the papers that they have a new team and I hope the team will deliver. I sincerely hope that they will improve the pageant.”
Dlakama, who is employed by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) as an executive assistant, won the crown last year, around the time her employers decided to dump the pageant.
ZTA had handled and financed the running of the modelling activities of the Miss Zimbabwe Trust for the previous six years and handed it back last year leaving the organisers struggling to finance their projects.
The finals were held late and Dlakama and her princesses only received their prizes the same week that she was supposed to travel to the Miss World finals.
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At the finals in China, she had to use her prize money for her upkeep and other expenses like her wardrobe as her tailors had not been paid.
She was later to be reimbursed when she returned but conceded that she was not settled in camp as she had not been groomed. Unlike her predecessor Malaika who made it into the top 10 at the global contest.
Karin Davison chairperson of the Modelling Industry Association of Zimbabwe last week said they are working towards achieving a better modeling contest.
“We are doing it a bit differently this time around as we are going to all the 10 provinces to select the girls,” she said.
She said they are working with other people in the industry to improve the pageant.
Davison said they have scheduled to have the semi-finals of the national contest in Bulawayo on June 29 with the national finals being held in Harare on July 27.
“We will not be taking a lot of girls to the finals like the other years but just between 12 and 15,” said Davison.
