Mzembi Versus Kaseke Carnival Name War: The Verdict

There was a very messy spat ahead of the Harare International Carnival.

One that was, kindergarten style, dragged cat style by tourism minister Walter Mzembi into the public domain and it had such an unpleasant smell to it and plenty of maggots.

The crowd at this year's 'contentious' carnival.

The issue at hand was the perceived ‘mortgaging’ of a national event in the form of the carnival to Big Time Harare International Carnival by prefixing the name of the carnival with the sponsor’s name as the ZTA boss, Karikoga Kaseke had announced to the media earlier on.

And as the festival had failed to be held on government coffer hand-outs last year, one would understand why a benefactor would want to attach their name on their money and make it work for them. ‘Not so,’ said Mzembi!

One could say it was hardly a kindergarten move by Mzembi as Kaseke had earlier on also used megaphone diplomacy to haggle for funding for both the Carnival and Sanganai/Hlanganani by announcing that these two key events would be shelved owing to lack of money.

That hanging of dirty linen proved to be a masterstroke as the ZTA boss got government to overturn his ‘decision’ and release funds for the two important events.

But was the reversal in the glare of the media of the branding decision between ZTA and Big Time Strategic Group also a masterstroke as a counter measure by Mzembi?

Perhaps the jury can safely return after the dust has now settled on the Carnival. And Mzembi bears more scars after attracting criticism from the media for his earlier megaphone diplomacy if events at the carnival are anything to go by.

Kaseke was again right by a majority decision of the jury.

Big Time boss Justice Maphosa poured in palpable funding for the event and made this doubtlessly the best ever carnival held in Zimbabwe and with a gong from the Europe Business Assembly and earning the Socrates Award, which has labelled the biggest and best carnival on the continent, Kaseke comes out tops yet again.

Never would the event have been this big were it not for the palpable logistical support from Big Time which clearly invested ‘BIG TIME’ in the event nor for the behind the scenes funding that added glitz to the affair.

It was as big and glitzy as both England’s Notting Hill Festival and Glastonbury combined-but only with much better weather than the damp weather on Muddy Island!

A world class stage rigged by international engineers and gaffers ensured what was definitely the best logistically catered for event to hit Harare since the dawn of Independence, which is to say in the history of the nation.

And with many spanners recovered after the event which detractors tried throwing into the works, including junk like Anne Nhira and underwear wars meant to torpedo the event, everything came out roses in the end.

Certainly, nobody would have faulted Kaseke for having initially allowed the sponsors to put their name tag on the event. The evidence of the success and investment supports them.

Perhaps next time quiet diplomacy will be adopted. Because in quiet diplomacy, the media is not forced at the end of it all to hold a trial afterwards and declare an eventual winner as is the case this time.

And to those few in the Ministry of Hospitality and Tourism Industry who were on board, Justice Maphosa, Karikoga Kaseke and ZTA, congratulations are in order for hosting an event that turned the heads of people in the West who would ordinarily see no good thing coming out of this Jerusalem.

To the detractors, at least God gave them all tongues with which to lick their wounds!

As they say, if you can’t beat team ZTA and crew….