MBOMBELA – The countdown to the 2014 Miss Mpumalanga auditions are underway to find the fairest of them all.
It will take place on November 8 at the Emnotweni Sun and on November 9 at Cappello restaurant in Emalahleni. It starts from 10:00 to 17:00.
According to the organisers, Mzimari Productions, the contestants must bring along a portrait and full-length photos of themselves and the stipulated R100 registration fee on both days. “We are in the fourth year of organising this prestigious event and the standard and quality keeps improving each year.
“Our yardstick is the Miss South Africa beauty pageant, whereby, you need to have beauties that can compete both at national and international level. Education is of utmost importance, because we need to add quality to Miss SA’s,” said CEO,
Gugu Nyarenda.
In 2011 they had Mpumi Lephoko as queen, then followed Lungile Libambo in 2012 and currently there’s Ntandoyenkosi Kunene.
Nyarenda disputed rumours that organisers of Miss Mbombela have promised their contestants they will gain automatic entry into Miss Mpumalanga,
“If organisers feel they want their contestants to participate, they must encourage the girls to come audition because my judging panel is very strict. They are independent and will qualify any girl who performs well.” It has emerged that Mbombela Local Municipality has distanced itself from the current pageant when we spoke to the executive mayor, Cllr Cathy Dlamini:
“We haven’t granted anybody permission to organise the pageant at this juncture. We need to endorse it because a queen representing the municipality, has to play a role in our service-delivery initiatives.” Mpumalanga News is in possession of an undated, signed letter of support from the municipality.
The letter reads in part: “This letter serves to confirm that Mbombela Local Municipality supports the above mentioned pageant initiative. We, hereby encourage individuals, institutions and corporate companies to invest and/or provide sponsorships towards the success of the project.
“It is managed and organised by MP’s Finest Media (Pty) Ltd with the aim of promoting youth-related programmes. The initiative will be used as a vehicle to keep the youth of Mbombela away from social ills by encouraging education and community development.
“The organisers have been working in partnership with the municipality and have displayed the relevant expertise – now required to stage such an auspicious event,” ended the statement.
Confronted about these facts, they informed this newspaper last week that a meeting was underway at the municipality to resolve the misunderstanding. Mpumalanga News urged them to go to the meeting and give us feedback on the outcome, but at the time of going to print, they hadn’t replied.
For more information regarding the auditions call 072 725 8988
