PROMOTERS of Shaggy's much hyped one-off show in Zimbabwe set for Friday but was postponed "at the last minute" did not have a clearance from the National Arts Council, Standardplus can report.

Nicholas Moyo, the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe assistant arts promotions director said the promoters had approached them for a clearance to hold the show but "balked at the last minute".

"Yes they came to the offices and we discussed the issue," he said. "However, they did not apply for the clearance for the show and I assume that it was because they realised that the singer was no longer coming."

The promoters had also made bookings at the HICC for Friday, which were cancelled.

According to the promoters the show was postponed at the last minute following "a mix-up in travel arrangements for his entourage".

Shaggy whose real name Orville Richard Burrell was scheduled to perform at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) alongside South African Wheel Spinner, Channel O DJ Waxxy and other local musicians.

According to his website, the Zimbabwean stop-over was part of a series of Southern African shows that would also have seen him performing at Fairground Holdings in Gaborone, Botswana and South Africa.

The promoter of the Zimbabwean show Clive Mutyasira of Stik Music International said Shaggy had postponed his trip indefinitely while the "outstanding issues" were being attended to.

"The show was not cancelled but we have just postponed it to a later date," Mutyasira said.

We are still to confirm the dates with Shaggy's manager.

"The reason we postponed the show is technical stuff . . . but all I can tell you is that there were some people in Shaggy's group who wanted to come but we failed to get their details and process them in time."

He dismissed allegations that they had failed to meet Shaggy's demands saying everything was in place except for the entourage's travel arrangements.

Mutyasira added: "We were the master minds in bringing American singer Joe Thomas last year so why would we fail to bring Shaggy?

"We have already paid him and we are confident that he is coming," said Mutyasira.

But some of Shaggy's fans were not convinced saying the fact that his visit received minimal publicity raised suspicions.

Mutyasira said they decided on limited advertising until they were certain all logistics were in place.

"We did not want to raise people's hopes before finalising things," he said.

"But now that the show has been postponed we are going to make sure that everything is in order and we get coverage from both the print and electronic media."

However, the promoters have no plans to reduce their cover charge of US$25, which may prevent many people from seeing their idol live.

"People have been complaining that the entrance fee is too high but we do not have an option since Shaggy will be bringing his whole band," Mutyasira said.

"The travelling and upkeep cost plus their performance fee require a huge budget. The $25 is the only justifiable price we can charge."