BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
THE ninth edition of the Miss Zimbabwe-Zambia beauty pageant which had been scheduled for July has been postponed indefinitely as the contest’s anchor sponsor was struggling to pull together the targeted funding against the backdrop of a contracting economy.
The pageant’s organisers yesterday said the decision to push the event to another date — which will be announced in due course — was necessitated by the need to allow the anchor-sponsor time to meet the set targets.
Modelling Industry Association Zimbabwe (Miaz) and Size 4 Modelling Agency founder Wilbert Rukato said they had to bow down to the sponsors’ marketing strategy.
“We are not a charity work-focused pageant and neither is our approach aimed at promoting any other cause other than the participating models and modelling as a whole. We have agreed to move the Miss Zimbabwe-Zambia pageant to a later date in order to make sure that we will fulfil this unwavering goal, which is not entirely achievable presently,” he said.
“The Miss Zim-Zambia 2019 is meant to be a pageant with a noticeable difference. The pageant is wholly focused on launching the modelling career of the participating models, especially the main winner and her runners-up.”
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Rukato said the aspiring models would be on standby as both Zimbabwe and Zambia had wrapped up the scouting processes.
“We have a host of sponsors as well as a well-oiled organising team thus putting us in a good position to stage a remarkable event,” he said.
“We are aiming to offer the winning model a guaranteed career in the modelling industry, a shot at an international title and an opportunity to become a real icon in local modelling circles for years to come.”
Rukato said Miss Zimbabwe-Zambia was meant to create a platform for models from both countries to share ideas, create links, friendships and cultural synergies.
The 2015 edition of the pageant, held in Zimbabwe, was won by Francina Katuruza.