PAGEANT ESWATINI’S REIGN ENDS

MBABANE – All good things come to an end.

This notion rings true as Pageant Eswatini has notified the outgoing crown holders that their time has come to an end. This is according to a communiqué which was sent to all the outgoing crown holders, which includes Miss Eswatini, Miss Teen, Miss Cultural Heritage and Mr Eswatini. Miss Cultural Heritage’s reign came to an end last year in October while that of Miss Eswatini ended just before the COVID-19 outbreak early in March last year. Worth noting is that the different pageants could not be held last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s restrictions on gatherings.

Confirming

Confirming this was Pageant Eswatini President Catherine Potgieter who asserted that the outgoing pageant crown holders’ time had elapsed since the title was supposed to be for twelve months. “We had planned to host another pageant last year, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s rules and regulations, we had to cancel everything. Normally, we have a year of reigns and so we made a decision to stop all the crowns so that we can start afresh,” she said.

Regulations

She further highlighted that although they were in the dark as to how long the COVID-19 pandemic would continue being prevalent locally, she said the organisation was on the verge of putting new rules and regulations in place in order for Pageant Eswatini to move forward. Potgieter went on to add that it would have been amiss for them to plan for another pageant when there were still restrictions on gatherings. “For now, we need to have a discussion on the new rules and regulations in order for us to move forward with the pageants. We will share information in due course when everything is finalised,” she said. This publication then spoke to the outgoing Miss Eswatini, Nondumiso Dlamini, to comment on the matter at hand and she also confirmed receiving the letter of termination of her reign as Miss Eswatini.

Termination

Asked on how her tenure as the reigning queen was, she first acknowledged the fact that her reign extended beyond the twelve months, but said overall, her journey was beautiful and enlightening. She mentioned that she got the opportunity to work with other talented individuals and professionals alike who opened her mind on industry related projects. “The main difficulty I came across was finding the right sponsorship to do my charity work, but the help I got from those who helped me really drove the initiative. “I am humbled by the entire experience and not only will I continue doing charity work under my foundation, I will compete in other pageants,” she said. Eswatini National Council of Arts and Culture (ENCAC) Chief Executive Officer Stanley Dlamini also mentioned that due to the COVID-19 pandemic which was unprecedented in the past year, this caused disruptions to the council’s plans to prepare for all the pageants respectively.

Constraints

He went on to add that the reigning title holders could not fully implement their planned projects due to the constraints brought about by COVID-19. “In some instances, where another pageant cannot be held, an extension is granted, but this was not possible due to the coronavirus,” he said. Dlamini then said it was solely for that reason that the outgoing crown holders could not continue with their reigns. He, however, added that if the restrictions are eased to allow gatherings of 50 to 200 people, then there would be a possibility of the pageants being held once more for newly-crowned emaSwati in all the different pageants.

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