Zanzibar — AS the seventh Sauti za Busara, Zanzibar's popular music festival, closes down tomorrow, people have expressed varied opinions on its significance to the Isles inhabitants.

While music fans and visitors from outside Zanzibar loved the festival, most parents and Muslim youth groups thought that the event has been contributing heavily to moral decay.

"The festival has been meaningless to the Zanzibaris. Our children (youths) see and learn from musicians what they are not supposed to learn.

The gathering encourages getting into risky behaviours such as early and unsafe sex, and men plaiting hair," Omar Hassan, a parent in the Stone Town, commented.

Sheikh Azzan Khalid from the Imams association thought the same, saying: "These are places where youths learn smoking, drinking, and involving in love affairs."

He added: "We have asked the government to ban these festivals because they are destroying our culture." However, a number of youths such as Saidi Abdallah, 25, says that the festival was good.

"We learn from different musicians on how we can develop our music. It is not entirely true that youths change their behaviour and become smokers and drinkers by visiting the festival."

Yussuf Mahmoud, Festival director, says, "Music communicates more deeply than words, and can be a perfect way to bring people together.

Also, of course, the festival is promoting Zanzibar, and attracting the kind of visitor who is interested in the arts, culture and history of the island and who spends money in ways that have a great impact on the local grassroots economy."

He adds: "In a world where trans-global commercial interests are so pervasive, building bridges of peace and friendship through art is more pertinent than ever."

Despite lack of electricity in streets, many fans evaluated the festival, which attracted about 40 artists from all over Africa, as a success since the generators were used at the main venue -- Old Fort (Ngome kongwe) and the timetable was observed.

Sauti za Busara, translated 'Sounds of Wisdom' has firmly established itself as one of East Africa's finest annual events.

The five-day extravaganza of diverse and top-quality music, theatre and dance brings together people of all ages and backgrounds in celebration of the wealth and variety of Swahili music.

The Festival normally showcases rich and dynamic programmes including traditional dances 'ngoma', taarab, kidumbak, rumba 'muziki wa dansi', mchiriku, Swahili hip hop 'Bongo Flava', Afropop fusions, mystic and religious music, theatre, comedy, acrobatics and dance.

There are over thirty groups from the Swahili-speaking region: Zanzibar, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and Burundi, plus six specially selected groups from Swaziland, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso and Europe.