adminIf the pageant is not held on the said date, there are fears that the country might fail to meet the registration deadline for Miss World beauty pageant.
The Miss World 2012 finals are pencilled in for 18 August in Mongolia but a number of countries have already submitted their finalists.
The Miss Zimbabwe finals, which have been postponed a couple of times this year owing to financial constraints, are now set to be held at the Harare International Conference Centre .
This development comes after intervention by the ZTA. The beleaguered trust has delayed the event after ignoring calls by the tourism board to formally apply for sponsorship.
The trust only sought sponsorship after perennial problems dogged the pageant, reducing it to a centre of ridicule.
Saturday Leisure spoke to the patron of the trust, Kiki Divaris, who expressed optimism that the pageant would definitely take place on the set date.
“The new date for the pageant is 27 April and I can assure you it would be a really glamorous and lovely show,” said Divaris.
However, she could not shed light on the amount of sponsorship they had received from ZTA, saying it was their private business.
“It is none of your business. Who discusses your salary? What you must know is that the pageant will take place on 27 April,” said Divaris before hanging up the phone.
Contacted for comment, ZTA spokesperson Sugar Chagonda professed ignorance on the day of the finals.
“We are not running the show; we are only coming in as sponsors. We are still waiting for the documents from the trust as we want to ascertain their current state before we chip in,” said Chagonda.
Chagonda said the documents from the trust would then determine their areas of support.
“Once when they bring in those documents can we then determine our level of support and the areas where our assistance is needed and we take it up from there,” said Chagonda.
The Miss Zimbabwe finals were initially set for 28 February but were postponed twice from 23 March to 31 March due to problems affecting the organisation.
If the pageant fails to take place, it would simply mean Malaika Mushandu would continue holding the Miss Zimbabwe 2011-12 title.
The Miss Zim Trust has been struggling to raise the US$700 000 needed for the successful hosting of the finale.
ZTA took over the running of the pageant six years ago with its main thrust to promote the country’s tourism sector.
The tourism mother body raised the standards of the pageant to that of other countries with models walking away with meaningful prizes and opportunities.
It pulled out last year citing negative publicity the organisation received after the de-throning of Miss Personality, Lungile “Cyclone Ree” Mathe, in May.
Some of the models who made it in international pageants include Bulawayo beauties Lorraine Maphala, Caroline Marufu, Vanessa Sibanda and Harare’s Malaika Mushandu, among others.
It was through ZTA that models were awarded with luxury vehicles.
It is likely that ZTA would partner the trust for the next two years as it gears to get onto its own feet.
Online Reporter