Where are Byo’s own arts awards?

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ZIMBOS are a creative lot when it comes to entertaining each other. If Zimbabwean artistes went on “hunger strike” and decided to stop singing and stop performing would they be missed?

ZIMBOS are a creative lot when it comes to entertaining each other. If Zimbabwean artistes went on “hunger strike” and decided to stop singing and stop performing would they be missed?

I don’t think so because after all I think musicians, films, dances, radio and television stations from everywhere except Zimbabwe seem to entertain and be adored by the locals far better.

If mainstream entertainment halted then social entertainment would do it for our countrymen.

The prophets would steal the headlines and of late snake owners, handlers and killers! What is it with the new trend of pet snakes and witchcraft?

To me this is indeed part of entertainment in Zimbabwe because when a white person owns a snake it’s a pet when a black person owns one it’s witchcraft.

Were there always so many pythons to talk about in Zimbabwe or as usual it’s the new trend and fashion?

Snake stories are the new source of amusement and entertainment stealing away the limelight from the prophets who most recently outdid themselves trying to keep us entertained.

Enough about snakes and prophets, it’s on record. Indeed the Harare lot did it again. Last week they hosted the much-talked about dancehall awards.

While teething problems were reported here and there I respect their bold initiative, suffice to say something other cities and regions have always feared to do, take a bull by its horns.

The awards were a success and National Arts Merits Awards (Nama) did not arrest the organisers while the Home Affairs office did not apprehend them for tribalism or regionalism.

I will let the cat out of the bag because its time everybody called a spade a spade. After every Nama ceremony artistes from the Southern Region have always mooted a plan to host their own regional awards because the feeling is that Nama is biased toward Harare artistes.

Meetings have been held and discussions organised where all the vitriol about Nama has been spewed. Despite all the bitterness up to date none of the proposals to host “Bulawayo’s own awards” has lived to see the light of day.

Calls always seem to die and blow out like candle light until the next Namas are held.

Here is the difference. When the dancehall artistes decided to host their awards there was very little comparison of the awards to Nama.

The motive was not to prove a point to Nama neither was it to show other regions, tribes, languages and music genrés that dancehall rules the national roost.

I had a feeling that those behind the awards realised that the music genré had grown and it was time to honour those that are involved in it.

The initiative was not over sensitised nor used as tool of revenge against anyone.

In my opinion there is nothing wrong with people holding their own awards and events to honour those they choose to. Surely there is and will be nothing wrong with Bulawayo or artistes from the southern part of the country holding their own awards.

There are genrés like imbube music, traditional dances, and maskandi, among others that are not catered for by Nama or any other awards in the country. After all they can only cater for so many categories.

There are so many people who deserve to be honoured in Bulawayo and surrounding regions that probably would never be accorded that sort of recognition at awards of national stature like Nama.

The long and short of it is that just like there was good reason to hold dancehall awards in Harare, no one would fault whoever hosts awards in their hometowns to cater for artistes and genrés bigger in their region.

Why then have so-called calls for awards in Matabeleland, Bulawayo and other regions failed to take off?

In my opinion they have failed because the motive behind holding them is in most cases more a reaction to results in other ceremonies like Nama than driven by good purpose.

There is a need to divorce such initiatives from revenge, proving a point, complaints, regionalism and tribalism. These are the diseases that naturally kill a good need to host local and regional awards.

If artistes and advocates for localised awards can pitch to donors and coperates proposals for support devoid of hate speech and bitterness, then surely we will live to honour regional artistes, directors, writers and gurus that deserve to be honoured.

That is the lesson I learnt from those that hosted the dancehall awards in Harare. Avoid wrong reasons for good initiatives. Keep walking.

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