MODELLING Industry Association Zimbabwe (Miaz) director Wilbert Rukato said controversy surrounding the Miss World Zimbabwe pageant was a result of unprofessional scouting by organisers.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
Rukato said the Miss Zimbabwe Trust, which has taken over the management of the national pageant, has turned the hitherto professional and credible beauty contest into a haven for scandal with almost every model ending up mired in controversy.
“Miss World Zimbabwe can be commended for efforts to bring class to the event, but all that comes to naught when models, some of whom are agency rejects, serial boyfriend mockers, recycled contestants and runway models are given the podium,” Rukato said. Reigning Miss World Zimbabwe Emily Tatanga Kachote can be dethroned if it is proved that she is the one in the nude pictures reportedly circulating on the social media networks.
Last year, newly crowned Miss Zimbabwe Thabiso Phiri was dethroned after her leaked pictures in the nude found their way on social media platforms.
“When a beauty pageant courts more controversy than outright endorsements, the plot is lost. Miss World Zimbabwe’s scouting team must improve on the model’s profiling techniques which ensure that scandal-free title holders are selected,” Rukato said.
“There are modelling agents and scouts responsible for scouting and grooming who spend most of their time on the ground and are better placed to advise them on enhanced model scouting skills.”
While many thought Marry Mubaiwa-Chiwenga had struck the right chord after taking over the running of the Miss Zimbabwe pageant marred by poor organisation, Rukato thought otherwise.
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Rukato said models with characters to match international standards were there, but could only come through industry structures and no amount of cars or cash could lure them if the fundamental rules of engagement were not followed.
Contacted for comment, the pageant’s spokesperson Tendai Chirau said they did not neglect modelling agencies during their scouting promises.
“When we conduct our search, the process is open and we had modelling agencies sending their models to us so if someone is claiming that the agencies are sidelined they are misinformed,” Chirau said.
Chirau said they could not pre-empt what they had at the moment on the allegations of Kachote’s leaked pictures, but would be at liberty to share with the public after they were through with their investigations.
