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Sarah Mpofu

Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
EIGHT Miss Tourism Zimbabwe regional licence holders have been identified with the national licence holder Sarah Mpofu-Sibanda saying they are still finalising the rest.

Mercy Mushanginga of Zim Gossip will hold four regional finals namely Harare, Mashonaland Central, Harare, Mashonaland and West whereas former Miss Zimbabwe Caroline Marufu-Buwu, who was crowned Miss Tourism Africa in 2007, will hold it down in Manicaland where she is based. For the Midlands, Image Modelling Agency boss Mavis Koslek is the licence holder, while for Masvingo, Memory and Innocent Munaye — who have held numerous pageants in the province in the past — will join the others. Finally, Shantell Nkomo will do it for Matabeleland North.

After taking over the national licence for the pageant, Mpofu-Sibanda declared that she would bring back regional finals of the pageant during her tenure. The regional finalists from the country’s 10 provinces will feed into the national finals to be held most probably in September.

Mpofu-Sibanda said it was a plus that some beauty queens have come on board to hold regional finals.

“The fact that former beauty queens such as Caroline have come on board is a positive move. This shows that we are headed in the right direction as people who are now licence holders know what they are doing,” said Mpofu-Sibanda.

She said some have already started working on setting dates for the regional finals.

“There are some in the list who are working on tentative dates for the pageant. They’re just finalising one or two things and soon they shall be announcing when their regional finals will be held during the course of this year. We want to avoid the dates clashing,” said Mpofu-Sibanda.

She said regional finals were being brought back for the people.

“We want to take this pageant back to the people. It gives value and more meaning for the people of a particular province to rally behind and support their representatives. It should also make people feel that they have also been given an opportunity to feature in the national contest,” said Mpofu-Sibanda. — @bonganinkunzi