Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
1 January 2009
Harare — VIVACIOUS 20-year-old Vanessa Sibanda, beat 29 other beauties, to be crowned Miss Tourism Zimbabwe 2008 at a star-studded event held at the Harare International Conference Centre on Tuesday night.
The judges were unanimous that the Speciss College student had what it takes to be Zimbabwe's tourism ambassador.
The teary beauty said she had been waiting for the day and was happy that she had won.
"It's amazing because I've been waiting for this day and I'm so excited that I've done it," she said backstage.
Vanessa said she hoped to use her influence to market Zimbabwe as a first tourist destination in Africa.
A holder of class 4 drivers' licence, Vanessa, is set to receive a Mercedes Benz C200 for use during her reign as one of the packages for clinching the title.
She takes over from the United Kingdom-based Cynthia Muvirimi as the queen and will represent Zimbabwe at the Miss World 2009 contest.
Sharon Razzle another stunner was picked as the first princess while Happiness Tshuma was the second princess. Cleopatra Ncube was crowned Miss Personality.
The other prizes for the winners will be presented at a ceremony to be held early next year.
However, since this was a tourism pageant the top five including Lynn Williams another hot favourite and Sharon Dube will be working closely with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.
Just like the theme song of the evening Shaina (shine) by urban groover Alexio Kawara, Vanessa outshone the other contestants and got rapturous cheers from the crowd as Barney Mpariwa who was the co-emcee announced her as the winner.
The winners got full honours as the Presidential Guard escorted them for crowing by guest of honour Mai Tsitsi Sekeramayi, the wife of the Minister of Defence, Cde Sydney Sekeramayi.
The presence of the Presidential Guard in full attire complete with swords gave a stately feel to the finale and enthralled the crowd.
Dignitaries who graced the event included the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Cde Francis Nhema, the patron of the Miss Zimbabwe Trust Kiki Divaris, Deputy Minister of Youth Development and Employment Creation, Cde Saviour Kasukuwere, business mogul Phillip Chiyangwa and his young brother Jimmy, and ZTA boss Mr Karikoga Kaseke.
Artistes Suluman Chimbetu, and Selma Mtukudzi, who were not part of the programme, were also in attendance. Entertainment was provided by rhumba great Kanda Bongo Man, Alick Macheso, Tongai Moyo, Fungisai Zvakavapano-Mashavave, and Mahendere Brothers to mention a few.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
