adminMelissa Mpofu Showbiz Editor
THE Victoria Falls community and some people attending the Victoria Falls Carnival are up in arms with the organisers who they claim sidelined and short-changed them during the three-day festival.The fete which ended yesterday saw people partying at different venues in the resort town, with the climax being last night when revellers partied into the New Year with Beatenberg, Goldfish, Oliver Mtukudzi and Judgement Yard.
Just like Mokoomba, the Vic Falls band which is celebrated more internationally than locally, the Vic Falls Carnival attracted more interest from foreigners. Most attendees this year were from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia with a few locals, most of whom were service providers.
Most who spoke to Chronicle Showbiz said they would have wanted to be part of the event, but could not as it was not appealing to them and too costly. Day passes to the various events ranged between $40 and $50.
“We feel the carnival is not for us as the tickets are too expensive, especially considering that some of the activities are not worth that amount.
“Some of us wanted to do menial jobs, just like we do when our town hosts big events, but we were told that organisers had brought their team from South Africa including bartenders,” said a man from Chinotimba who declined to be mentioned.
Some from as far as Harare said they found it disheartening that the Victoria Falls community was not involved in the hosting of the annual carnival.
“I walked into OK after the colour festival and the locals looked at me as if I was mad because I was coloured in different colours. I told them I was from the Colour festival and they professed ignorance, showing how disassociated they were,” said Tinotenda Ushe.
She said she felt short-changed as the carnival’s programme was not worth the money she parted with.
“The carnival has been boring as there was nothing much to do on their programme, especially considering that we had to pay $40 a day.
“Comparing this carnival with events such as Hifa, I feel short-changed as some events like the day with the colour festival ended early and we were required to pay more money to attend the after-parties,” Ushe said.
But carnival organisers said they had employed over 200 locals to assist them with the hosting of the event.
“It’s not true that we brought staff such as bartenders from South Africa as most of the workers we recruited are locals. The stage came from Harare but those who erected it are from Vic Falls,” one of the organisers Blessing Munyenyiwa said.
Online Reporter