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Leonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
GOVERMNMENT was impressed with the performance of Victoria Falls dance groups that provided entertainment at the just ended Sadc Summit and plans to assist them.
Organiser of the entertainment segment, Reverend Paul Damasane, who is also principal director in the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture, said there was a need for partnership between line ministries for the development of the arts industry.

“We were truly impressed with Victoria Falls dance groups and discovered that there is abundant talent, even visual art,” he said.
Three dance groups – Umkhankaso Wamajaha, Simunye Arts Ensemble and Black Amakhwezi, were given a chance to showcase their talent in front of Sadc Heads of State as government afforded the slot only to Victoria Falls artistes.

The groups welcomed Heads of State at the Victoria Falls International Airport and performed at the Elephant Hills Hotel where delegates held their meetings.

Rev Damasane said there was a need for his Ministry and the Small and Medium Enterprises and Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development ministries, which are responsible for marketing works of art, to co-operate and assist budding artistes.

“There is a lot of talent in Vic Falls but we need to assist them. These groups should begin building on the foundation we built for them and the starting point will be engaging these line ministries. They should always come to us and we will help,” he said.

Rev Damasane said with proper management and business linkages, the art sector would grow as fast as tourism was expanding.
“We also realised that when it comes to visual art and craft, there is a need for much closer co-operation in terms of business management and ability to showcase their work, improve on linkages between artistes and producers and marketers.

“Most of them are not growing because they are not creating proper linkages and strong business plans,” he said, alluding to curios and other handmade artifacts.

Rev Damasane singled out the fabric section as the busiest one during the Summit which ended on Monday.
“However, those who exhibited at the summit were happy as they made sound sales which when compared to previous conferences, were better because of proximity and placement after realisation that small items that can fit in a bag are the most sought after than bigger craft,” he said.

Rev Damasane said the groups performed well because they did not focus on individual groups but on particular dances resulting in collaborations by the groups.

“You will note that we were the first Sadc hosts to sing the regional block’s national anthem in three languages by the choral group of 100 members which is a success story for us,” he added.