Miss Botswana organizers, Botswana Council for Women (BCW) have confirmed that they are parting ways with the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Culture Development (MYSC) .
BCW says preparations for Miss Botswana 2018/2019 will begin as early as December this year to give themselves enough time for preparations and to canvass for sponsorship. Speaking to the media recently, Dorcas Thobega said that next year the pageant will be different as they will no longer be partnering with the Ministry of Youth Empowerment Sport and Culture Development as their contract was valid for two years counting from last year.
“There is no reason really for our parting ways other than the fact that the ministry partnered with us last year during the BOT 50 celebrations. The partnership was for only two years,” she explained. At the height of Botswana’s 50th anniversary preparations, MYSC waltzed in, promising to revamp the pageant, committing over 500 000 as cash prize(s) for the Top 12. The Queen walked away with P300 000, her first princess with P150 000 and the third runner up P75 000. The other nine contestants in the Top twelve received P7 000 cash prizes.
MYSC Minister, Thapelo Olopeng had gone on record then saying that his ministry intended on effecting change “as we take over the pageant”. Media reports quoted Olopeng as saying “We will be handling not only the event, but the whole project for the next two years.”
However, it appears BCW was sold dreams by Olopeng’s ministry despite the convincing sales pitch early last year as the ministry was this year nowhere to be seen during the run up to the Miss Botswana grand finale last Thursday.
Olopeng had mainly conveyed unhappiness over the way the Miss Botswana pageant had been handled over the past few years, saying that other than the prizes, there were reports of failed projects and those abandoned soon after returning from the Miss World pageant.
“Most of the queens often come to our offices complaining that they do not have funds to carry out other projects that are necessary at the final stage. This did not sit well,” media reports quote Olopeng as saying early last year. The ministry, also, when coming into the picture last year did not announce themselves as sponsors but as partners for two years.
We will be waiting to see what the big change will be now that they are independent.
