Miss Botswana organisers decry lack of support
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Sunday April 23, 2023 06:00
Though the date for the World pageant is yet to be confirmed, Chombo has been busy with preparations as she plans to bring the crown home.
However, the management team says it has found it difficult to receive support for the queen with only a few companies coming on board.
In an interview with Arts & Culture, Miss Botswana public relations officer, Tshepiso Solomon said the reigning queen's aim is to bring the crown home.
She said the other challenge is that they are yet to know when the competition will be held. "We have been facing some challenges such as not knowing when the competition will be held due to lack of information from Miss World and lack of sufficient support financially for the queen from local business and organisations be it private or public," Solomon said.
She also said they have been constantly on the ground reaching out to private and public entities for financial support to build up the funds required to maintain a reigning queen and cover her expenses to ensure she is ready for Miss World Festival. Despite that, Solomon said they have received support from the likes of Khoemacau Copper Mine through fundraising initiatives and pledges towards her Beauty with Purpose project. Furthermore, she revealed that the organisation also plans to host fundraisers throughout the year to ensure that they do something without waiting for donations. In addition, she explained that Chombo’s wardrobe had been under design by local designers.
"A call out to all local designers, cobblers, fashion retailers and others had been made numerous times and from a selection of applicants, they would be given the opportunity to dress Miss Botswana during her Miss World stay and leading up to her departure," she said. Solomon said they recently received communication from Miss World notifying participants of their plan to move the festival to November.
She, however, pointed out that the final decision has not been communicated. She said the location indicated in the email specified that the pageantry would be held in the United Arab Emirates but city had not been disclosed yet either. She added that Chombo have being working on her project dubbed Beauty with a Purpose Project the Genesis, which is something very close to her heart. Meanwhile, Solomon urged Batswana to stop comparing Chombo with her predecessor, Palesa Molefe.
“Former queen Palesa was a vibe already when she was crowned and came with her following and support. More so, the pause in the Miss World Pageant due to a COVID-19 scare after she had already placed was also what aided in the increased extent of support by the time the finalists returned to compete in May 2022. Please let us as Batswana not fall into the trap to compare the current and former queens’ popularity and support rankings as their reign circumstances are very different,” she ended.