The Sunday Mail
The attendance was not exactly impressive, South African Idols judge Randal Abrahams was a no show, proceedings did not start on time and the technical glitches were awful.
Some category called Best International Achievers Award was just smuggled in with no warning and some of the winners on the night simply did not deserve their accolades.
Lambasting last week’s Zimbabwe Music Awards (Zima) is easy; it seemed as if all forces were conspiring against the organisers of the awards ceremony despite having ‘A’ list performers and presenters.
A simple confession by the Zima chairman, Joseph Nyadzayo, for instance, that they lied to the nation about the real reason for the postponement of the awards would be enough to crucify the whole team.
“Chinx’s house was still at slab level, so we could not present it like that to the people – now it’s a roof level, it’s much better,” confessed Nyadzayo.
Yes, the event had all the aforementioned shortcomings, but the team deserves some praise considering that they put up a decent show despite the economic challenges the country is facing.
Not that they should not be criticised, no. But Nyadzayo and team deserve a pat on the back for a job well done. They deserve to be applauded for trying and managing to achieve that much.
There is nothing wrong with encouraging them to dream even more for next year’s event, so that it can attract better crowds and more sponsorship.
Apart from the National Arts Merit Awards (Nama), a Zima gong is the only other accolade in the Zimbabwean arts industry that a winner can proudly display in the living room of their home.
Despite its lack of financial value, the award carries the powerful Zima brand, which if properly cared for and improved, will have not only musicians in the country being proud to be a part of but corporate sponsors as well.
The fact that the event had the likes of Tich Mataz, Napster, Ruvheneko and DJ Mox as presenters says a lot about the ceremony. Guest presenters of the awards, the likes of Daniel McKenzie, Clive Chigubhu, Shingi “Mau Mau”, Delani Makhalima, Miss Red and Chamu Chiwanza, among many others, is a statement of intent from the organisers.
Even their choice of venue is not that of people who think small.
The performances by the artistes, although brief, were on point from the first act by Africa Revenge featuring Audius Mtawarira right up to the climax of the event where Zim dancehall star Soul Jah Love had everyone on their feet.
Having been last staged in 2007, the awards ceremony proved to be a breath of fresh air for many artistes, who expressed joy at the return of the red carpet event.
Dino Mudondo said the awards were an opportunity for artistes to gain national recognition; therefore, the musicians would work harder to be honoured thus creating quality works. For Soul Jah Love the awards are a measure by which artistes can assess themselves.
He said: “These are not mickey-mouse awards, they are big and they are serious. If you get recognised here just like it used to be before, then you know that you are indeed one of the best.”
The biggest winner at the awards ceremony, Cynthia Mare, who walked away with three awards, said the return of Zima was a “great thing for the industry”.
“South Africans have SAMAs and we have the Zima awards. Now nominees and winners can have an equivalent award to mention in their profiles especially when they reach out for the international market.
“Zima organisers worked hard with very little resources, I believe that next year will be better hopefully with more funding to make it a smoother operation,” said Mare.
