The Sunday Mail
Prince Mushawevato
THE list of eventual winners for the 16th edition of the National Arts Merit Awards (Nama) convincingly justifies why entries continue to drop with each passing year.
For those not in the know, entries dropped by 329 this year from 1 104 to 775 entries.
Instead of growing, Nama is seemingly moving a step forward and two steps back.
The general feeling was that the event would improve this year after a massive outcry that ensued at last year’s edition when Zim dancehall artiste Killer T was clearly robbed of a well-deserved gong for his chart-bursting album “Ngoma Ndaimba”, which literally carried sing-along and hit tracks only.
As if that was not enough, they also failed to honour Rev Togarepi’s “Ebenezer” in the same edition, much to the dismay of both the artiste and the public. We could go on and on since the list of discrepancies is endless and not limited to music only.
But the bottom line is the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) really needs to take a massive dose of self-reflection and address the manner in which they go about their business.
Each year their supposed adjudication team always leave the public with more questions than answers. It is evident that in all editions they have a balancing system which they try to follow in coming up with nominees and eventual winners.
Are awards ceremonies meant to appease certain egos?
The general feeling among Zimbabweans at present is that the NACZ board as well as the adjudication panel is tired and has outlived its relevance. It appears the current hierarchy has reached its zenith and is seriously out of touch with reality.
Certainly we are grateful of what they have achieved thus far but the time seems ripe for them to pass the baton to fresh minds that will take the ceremony to another level.
Nama is Zimbabwe’s premier awards event but cannot be compared even to a provincial event like the annual Crown Gospel Awards (now in their 10th year) that are held in Durban.
And lack of resources should not be used as an excuse.
We have smaller events like Dreamstar, Zim dancehall and Hip-Hop awards that are still teething but have come to give light on how such events should be handled, operating in the same environment as Nama.
Of course, awards always have controversies, even in Hollywood, but in our case it has unfortunately become the norm.
To make matters worse, some of the controversies that characterise Nama are so loud, unnecessary and can be easily avoided by following simple market trends.
For instance, if they indeed had an active panel of monitors, how could a Zim dancehall artiste like Boom Beto and his hit song “Amai Makanaka”, popularly known as “Munodonhedaza Musika”, fail to get a nomination?
It is the same case with sungura singer Tatenda Pinjisi and his chart-topping track “Saina”.
Also, how do you explain “Muzita ra Baba”, a television series, winning the Outstanding Screen Production-Full Length Film when there was the Outstanding Screen Production TV category?
Such outright discrepancies make people wonder if there is a serious team of monitors behind all this, that is if it exists at all.
Obviously as part of Nama’s defence, they always point out that certain artistes did not submit entry forms. But why does the arts body not stop calling for entries and task the “active throughout the year” monitoring panel to select nominees in every category and eventually winners?
History is fast proving that there are arrogant people at the NACZ who are not willing to flow with the times. lt is our hope that as they ponder their next move, they will remember that the Nama gong is prestigious and does not need them to unnecessarily diminish its glitter.
Please do the right thing and restore what has been lost of its worth.
