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No prizes for Miss Zim winners

Life & Style
The recently crowned Miss Zimbabwe Bongani Dhlakama and her two princesses will have to wait a bit longer before they can get their prizes. Prizes for the winners were not announced on the day of the show as has been the tradition over the years, with the event organisers saying they did not have anything […]

The recently crowned Miss Zimbabwe Bongani Dhlakama and her two princesses will have to wait a bit longer before they can get their prizes.

Prizes for the winners were not announced on the day of the show as has been the tradition over the years, with the event organisers saying they did not have anything in the bag yet.

Dhlakama, a Midlands State University student, was adjudged the most beautiful Zimbabwean girl for 2012 at the pageant finals held last Friday at the Harare International Conference Centre while Petina Nhamburo (19) was crowned first princess and Ruvimbo Katiyo second princess respectively.

Kiki Divaries, the patron of the Miss Zimbabwe Trust, said they would have a meeting with other organisers to see what they will give the winning girls.

“I don’t know the prizes yet, but we will discuss and see what we will give the girls,” she said. Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) says it is willing to assist Dhlakama with sponsorship for her projects.

Dhlakama is a ZTA employee.

The authority’s chief executive officer Karikoga Kaseke said while they would not give the beauty queen the winning prize, they will only go as far as assisting her to see through the project she had lined up during her reign.

“We will not give her a prize for winning the show as we are not the organisers, but we will assist her by looking for sponsors for the charity projects she will embark on as the national queen,” he said.

Dhlakama, who is employed as an executive assistant at the ZTA Bulawayo office, said she had always wanted to contest for Miss Zimbabwe, but could not do so in the past since her employer was the host.

“I have always had a passion for modeling and really wanted to try out Miss Zimbabwe, but could not do so as the company I work for (ZTA) was the one responsible for hosting the show so it was not possible for me to take part.

“When they stepped down and gave back the licence to the Miss Zimbabwe Trust, I knew it was time to pursue my dream,” she said.

Dhlakama said she would mostly likely be based in Harare during her reign as she prepares for Miss World which will be held in August in China.