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Bongani Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent
MISS Bulawayo 2013, Mellissa Chaka, is still in the running for the Miss Zimbabwe crown after surviving a two-week boot camp where 11 girls were eliminated last week with 15 finalists left in the competition scheduled for Harare on Saturday.
The Miss Zimbabwe finals will be held at Mabvazuva Village (formerly Coronation Park) in Harare’s Msasa industrial area.
Bulawayo’s other representatives, Michelle Tembo and Marble Nyathi, are out of the running leaving Chaka, who hopes to emulate other Miss Bulawayo queens who went on to win Miss Zimbabwe such as the reigning Miss Zimbabwe Bongani Dhlakama.
Of the 11 Miss Zimbabwe finalists who were booted out, two were disqualified on Sunday for sneaking out on Saturday night. The two Hilda Mabu (21) and Primrose Tshuma (21) are both from Harare.
Miss Zimbabwe Trust chairperson Mary Mubaiwa-Chiwenga said the boot camp had 26 girls at the beginning and the 11 were booted out for various reasons that included indiscipline and not meeting the requirements of the pageant.
“At Miss Zimbabwe we are grooming someone who is going to represent the country at an international stage. The girls who were booted out failed tasks such as walking on the ramp, their posing, smiling and those two who were eliminated for indiscipline. All these contribute to creating a beauty queen for Zimbabwe,” she said.
The show will be attended by invited guests only. One cannot pay and walk in. This is a departure from previous Miss Zimbabwe pageants usually held at the Harare International Conference Centre where the events were open to the public.
For those who will not be able to attend, Mubaiwa-Chiwenga said ZBCtv would screen the pageant live on Saturday as from 8.30PM.
She said the pageant would have the requisites of Miss World such as the swimwear, ethnic wear and evening wear.
“South Africa-based Zimbabwean designer Spero Villioti will dress the finalists in the evening wear. He has been chosen to make the dress for the eventual winner of the Miss Zimbabwe pageant that she will wear at the Miss World finals. Chichi Chidhakwa Chichi and Christians and Dominics have also been chosen to help in making other dresses,” she said.
Mubaiwa Chiwenga told our Harare Bureau that the previous arrangement where the event was open to the public usually demeaned the stature of the finals as rowdy characters within the crowd would hurl insults at the girls.
Meanwhile, at a prize unveiling ceremony held on Sunday, three brand new Chevrolet cars worth $60,000 will be given away to three models vying for Miss Zimbabwe beauty pageant.
The queen will win and drive away in a brand new Chevrolet Cruze and will be appointed Environment ambassador and represent the country at the Miss World beauty pageant set for London.
The first and second finalists will be given Chevrolet Sparks plus cash prizes that will be revealed soon.
Online Reporter