Maureen Odubeng
5 November 2009
The Mascom-sponsored Botswana Musicians Union (BOMU) Awards have come and gone with a few hiccups here and there, but all is not over yet as BOMU is busy preparing for its prize-giving ceremony before the end of the month.
BOMU Secretary General, Seabelo Modibe, told Showbiz yesterday that BOMU is looking at holding the awards prize-giving ceremony within two weeks, assuring that the ceremony "will difinitely be held before the end of November".
He said the prize- giving ceremony will not only be for the winners, but for all the nominees, explaining that all nominees will be presented with certificates, which total 120.
The 30 winners will in addition to the trophies walk away with P1, 000 each in cash prizes, while nominees will each get a cash prize of P500. Seabelo said the prizes would cost BOMU roughly P140, 000, which will come from sponsorship money.
Seabelo appealed to journalists and radio personalities to report about the awards responsibly, explaining that if BOMU is to grow the awards, it needs constructive criticism, and not reckless comments, which at the end of the day do not offer solutions.
Seabelo acknowledged that a lot still has to be done, but said the union is trying to give good service to its members.
In the same breath, he said musicians should understand that BOMU has no intentions of cheating musicians, adding that whatever BOMU does, is for the common good of musicians.
He also appealed to musicians to familiarise themselves with the BOMU rules and regulations to avoid disappointment.
He advised musicians to register their complaints with BOMU before rushing to the media, explaining that it serves no purpose for musicians to attack their organisation through the media. He added that that kind of behaviour is the one that hinders the growth of BOMU.
Meanwhile, Seabelo appealed to musicians to take advantage of the recently launched funeral scheme for musicians, entered into by BOMU and Funeral Services Group (FSG).
He noted that BOMU currently only has a small number of musicians who have registered for the scheme. Seabelo said as a bonus for all winners, BOMU is looking into subsidising premiums for them, adding that BOMU will pay 50 percent and the individual 50 percent.
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