‘Don’t worry!’…Miss Tourism Zimbabwe is in good hands: Chairperson Sibusisiwe Dube Muleya
Sibusisiwe Dube Muleya

Sibusisiwe Dube Muleya

Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
Miss Tourism Zimbabwe (MTZ) is in good hands says MTZ board chairperson Sibusisiwe Dube-Muleya who  said she is committed to the success of the beauty pageant.

Appointed two months ago, Busi as Dube-Muleya is affectionately known in the modelling fraternity, is not a new face in the world of pageantry. The Harare-based, Bulawayo-born former beauty queen who was once Miss Bulawayo and Miss Tourism Zimbabwe 2nd princess under the tutelage of Sarah Mpofu, is now married with two children.

Last weekend she was in Bulawayo where she attended the Miss Tourism Zimbabwe Bulawayo provincial finals and spoke to Chronicle’s Bongani Ndlovu (BN) where she shared her plans for Miss Tourism Zimbabwe pageant.

BN: Who is Busi?

Busi: Firstly I’m a mother, wife and a self-driven person who is hungry for success. I enjoy doing things that can change other people’s lives hence I’m in the health sector and don’t take it like a job.

Every day, I thrive to change or impact positively someone’s life. I’m a very humble person and very approachable. I grew up in the ghetto – Nkulumane 11 to be precise and that’s what brands me or makes me the person I am today.

It’s up to you as a person to choose not to be defined by your background and I chose that for myself.

BN: When was your first brush with pageantry?

Busi: I was a model but I wasn’t keen on taking up modelling as a career. Sarah Mpofu would ask me to enter pageants and I’d always decline. But for Miss Bulawayo, when I entered in 2007, I was fully blossomed and I knew what I wanted.

BN: Who is your biggest support system?

Busi: My family. People always ask me how my husband takes it. We understand each other and are more of friends. He’s in the media and understands what is going on in the modelling industry. He knows what is said out there doesn’t change a person. He has imparted a lot in my life and even tells me when I’m missing it. I might get upset at first but at the end of the day, he’s always right. This is because it moulds me into a better person.

Also, my children – son Kayden who is nine and daughter Tahlia who is four keep me going. My son calls me a cool mom.

BN: How did you feel when you were appointed as the MTZ chairperson?

Busi: I was excited, happy and humbled at the same time. However, I looked at my schedule as I’m married and a mother. I asked myself whether this would be too much for me. I concluded no because I’m up for any challenge. I thrive on challenges and this is one of them that I want to overcome and emerge victorious.

BN: Two months after your appointment as Miss Tourism Zimbabwe Trust board chairperson, how has organising the national pageant been for you?

Busi: It’s an ongoing process as we’ve set up the board for the trust of which I’m chairperson. We’ve set up committees in the board such as the ethics and grooming committee that’ll be in charge of how the girl child will be protected after she is crowned. The second committee is the finance and administration committee looking at funding and administration of the pageant. Also there’s a transport committee looking at the logistics during the pageant like where the models will stay and how they are going to be transported and their general upkeep. The chairpersons of each committee will report to me.

BN: Have you faced any challenges in organising the pageant?

Busi: To say it has been smooth sailing will be sugar coating. We’ve had some challenges here and there, but our aim is to standardise our operations. We want to make sure what’s done in Bulawayo is done in Mutare, Masvingo and any other pageant around the country. It’s unfortunate that the licence holders didn’t get funding to host the regional pageants so they faced financial constraints here and there, but that didn’t stop them from attaining and meeting the timelines that we set as the mother body.

BN: Have you secured sponsors for the pageant?

Busi: We’re still looking for sponsorship so that we give people the best national pageant. We want to also ensure that whoever wins is fully equipped to best represent the country at the international pageant. Whoever wants to sponsor us is free to contact us as our doors are open to everyone.

BN: What’s your budget for the pageant and what exactly are you looking for?

Busi: Our budget is quite huge but I can’t disclose it. We aren’t looking necessarily for money but for asistance in the form of say accommodation, transport to fly the girls to Victoria Falls and the like. Any sponsorship is welcome.

BN: At the end of each queen’s reign, what do you want to achieve?

Busi: After the queen has finished her reign, I want her to feel that it was worth her while. She will be involved in a lot of programmes that are tourism related.I also want the model’s career in modelling to go on after the pageant. She should also be able to empower other ladies in other aspects of life at different platforms.

BN: What is your advice to aspiring models?

Busi: Most of these young ladies take modelling as lotto. They enter straight from home and if they don’t make it, they start to badmouth the pageant. I want them to understand what it is to be a model.

BN: What should be done for our models to have successful careers?

Busi: Everything needs to be studied and understood, people need to go to class and modelling is no exception. I always encourage these young ladies to make use of modelling agencies to help them in their careers. We’ve got too many people masquerading as models but haven’t gone through courses for them to be called models. Therefore you become a half baked model.

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