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Bruce Ndlovu
WHILE America crowned army commander Deshauna Barber as its new Miss America on Sunday, Zimbabwe is still no closer to finding out the identity of the beauty queen to send as a contestantA� at the Miss World pageant with less than 50 days before all national pageants are due to have wrapped up all contests.
Participating countries should have submitted their candidates by July 29 or forfeit their place at the global pageant.
The biggest worry is that ZimbabweA� hasna��t even held a boot camp for contestants, while the silence around the pageant also means that should the pageant even be held in time, the winner will have only a few months to prepare for the all important Miss World.
In contrast, Zimbabwea��s neighbors and the winners of the 2014 pageant through Rolene Strauss, South Africa, held its own pageant in March and is steaming ahead with preparations for the global showpiece.
Former Zimbabwe representative, Malaika Mashandua��s credible Top 15 finish was credited to the longer period of preparation she had before the 2011 pageant.
The Miss World Zimbabwe pageant has been inA� a critical state for the last few years, as it has been a regular casualty of social media fuelled leaks of some of its winnersa�� nude pictures.
2016 was the year the pageant was supposed to rehabilitate its tattered image after the last few scandal-hit editions, but this yeara��s edition has also been beset by delays over unclear reasons.
A boot camp for the pageant had initially been set for 15 March while the pageant proper was penciled in for 16 April, but both dates have been pushed forward as the pageant organisers claimed they wanted to accommodate students that wanted a shot at the crown.
a�?We are extending scouting dates to the end of March in response to a request by students. There were calls from A-Level and college students to give them a chance. Schools are closing at the end of March as well,a�? said Miss Zimbabwe trust communication manager Tendai Chirau told the media at the time.
This came after the pageant had already registered a record low turnout from prospective candidates after having earlier on taken the unprecedented step of telling all prospective contestants that they would have to swear on the bible that they did not have compromising pictures which would give the pageant cause to sue them should nude pictures suddenly surface after the event.
Last month however, the pageant organisers alleged that there was a third force that was taking nude pictures of prospective candidates in order to derail their efforts to hold a successful pageant, hence necessitating further details to the hosting of the event.
a�?Here we are trying to hold a pageant for the nation and some people are out there to get us. We think we are doing work but its vice versa. My dream is to have a scandal-free pageant but when people start operating like that how can we move forward?,a�? said Miss Zimbabwe Board Chairperson Mary Chiwenga.
Chirau revealed this week to B-Metro that they would be sitting down today to come up with a new date for the pageant.
a�?We are sitting down for a meeting this week and that is hopefully when the date will be announced. As of now there is nothing to announce but the details will be given to the media when all the stakeholders have had a sit down on Friday,a�? he said.
Online Reporter