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From left to right Sarah Mpofu-Sibanda, 1st princess Hannah Maramba, Reigning MTZ Ashley Morgen, Ivy Ncube (2nd princess) and Shauntel Nkomo pose for a photo with MTZ Mat North queen Chantelle Dlamini (seated)

Leonard Ncube in Victoria Falls
CHANTELLE Dlamini, an 18-year-old Victoria Falls Herentals Group of Colleges student was on Saturday evening crowned Miss Tourism Zimbabwe (MTZ) Matabeleland North queen after beating eight other contenders.

It was her first attempt at modelling and she did not step wrongly as the judges panel comprising of former model Michelle Gapara, Nobesuthu Masango, Clement Mukwasi and Carl Joshua Ncube were all agreed she was the best.

Queen Hannah Maramba (20) from Hwange and Ivy Ncube of Victoria Falls were 1st and 2nd princesses respectively. Ncube was also voted Miss Personality.The three will now represent Matabeleland North at the MTZ national finals to be held in Bulawayo on September 8. Speaking after the pageant held at Elephant Hills Resort, MTZ patron Sarah Mpofu-Sibanda, who graced the regional final, said she was elated by the quality of models from the province.She however, bemoaned the fact that most girls rush to become mothers hence they miss out on the contest.

“It had been a long time since the area had a beauty pageant of this magnitude and so many thought it wouldn’t take off. I’m happy that we had about 10 beauties drawn from across the province participating. Initially, we had a bigger number of models, but we suffered dropouts because some who are within the required age group are already mothers while some have moved out of town,” said Mpofu-Sibanda.The models were drawn from Gwayi, Hwange, Lupane and Victoria Falls.

Matabeleland North licence holder, Shauntel Nkomo, said some contestants dropped out because of lack of confidence and personal commitments. She was however, grateful to sponsors and the Victoria Falls community for supporting the pageant. “I believe we had a good crowd considering that the event was held mid-month when people have little money. I also want to thank families, friends and sponsors for making the event a success,” said Nkomo.

The reigning MTZ queen, Ashley Morgen, who hails from Victoria Falls, was also in attendance and pledged to support the queen and her princesses in preparation for the grand finale.

@ncubeleon