THE organisers of the National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) got some relief last week when they managed to lure Culture Spears, a leading Botswana traditional music outfit to perform at the awards, to be held on February 20.

There were growing fears that this year's awards will be lacklustre mostly due to the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ)'s failure to raise enough funds for the annual awards.

With the awards date fast approaching, pressure has been mounting on NACZ to ensure a smooth flow of the awards, and avoid blunders that have taken the glitter off previous awards.

The organisation has however been struggling to raise enough sponsorship for prizes and to meet other costs involved in holding the event, let alone hiring a foreign group to grace the awards.

But in a development that is likely to give more credibility and weight to the awards, the Botswana Embassy in Harare teamed up with a local dance outfit to sponsor Culture Spears' performance at the awards.

The group will be the major highlight at the country's premier arts awards ceremony.

After the awards, the group is also expected to tour the country, holding performances in Harare, Bulawayo and the Victoria Falls, in collaboration with local groups.

They are also scheduled to do a joint production with all-female dance outfit, Amavithikazi.

Botswana's Ambassador to Zimbabwe Gladys Kokorwe and Amavithikazi manager Zanele Nkomazana said the tour is part of an exchange programme between the two groups.

Kokorwe initiated the idea when she was still her country's Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture.

"They will be here for a week, and will hold shows in different parts of the country where they will jointly perform with their Zimbabwean counterparts," Kokorwe said.

She said Culture Spears' performance at the NAMAs, and their tour of major entertainment centres across the country was part of efforts to expose the group to Zimbabwean culture.

Kokorwe said it will also expose Zimbabweans to her country's dances and tunes.

"Zimbabwe and Botswana have a cultural agreement, which is intended at strengthening cultural exchange programmes between the two countries.

"We want to see more Botswana groups coming to Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwean groups going to Botswana.

"In future we hope this exchange will also cover other aspects of art, not just music," she added.

NACZ acting deputy director, Nicholas Moyo said Culture Spears' presence would give the awards a regional flavour.

"They are one of the top groups in southern Africa, we have no doubt they will add more value to the awards," Moyo said.

He said they would invite more Botswana groups for such events as the Jikinya dance festival.

While confirming that they had failed to meet the budget for awards, Moyo said a number of partners had volunteered some essential parts of the budget.

"We have had challenges in terms of funding, but many partners are coming.

"NAMA has always thrived on partnerships, not on cash.

"What matters is that at the end of the day we have held the awards within set standards," he said.

Since entering the scene with the album Korone in 2005, Culture Spears has emerged as one of Botswana's most successful music groups.

The six-track album became an instant hit with songs like Selonyana, Mmadikokwana and the title track.

The group appeared to be bettering their act with the release of the second album, Kulenyane in 2006, which was very instrumental in increasing airplay for traditional music on Botswana radio and television.

The album has since clocked platinum in sales on the South African market.

Meanwhile, the nominees for the ninth edition of the NAMAs were unveiled on Thursday.

They were a mixture of new and old artists.