AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE government has pledged to render full support to accelerate the growth of the Arts sector saying it plays a big role as far as development is concerned.
This was said by the Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports Harrison Mwakyembe as he presided over the launch of the 2020 Bongo Star Search (BSS) season eleven in the city on Sunday.
“I am happy to be here and be part of this important event which helps a lot to fly high the Arts sector in the country and to a big extent, it is BSS which really does such a great job.
“If you follow parliamentary proceedings, you may recall that for the past three successive budget deliberations, the Minister for Finance has been naming the Arts Industry as one of the fast growing sectors in the country,” Mwakyembe said.
He then pledged that his ministry will in no way ignore the good works done by BSS in nurturing talents of upcoming musicians.
Moreover, Mwakyembe seized the opportunity to challenge talented youths to partake in the forthcoming BSS season eleven to stand a good chance of winning and upgrading their talents.
He also committed himself to hold talks with potential sponsors who can come forward to support various activities being fulfilled by his ministry including Arts and Sports sectors.
On her part, Benchmark Production Director Rita Paulsen which runs BSS said this season’s event which is set to start rolling from September 19th will cover five regions.
“We will start in Mbeya on September 19th then Arusha on September 26th, Mwanza on October 3rd, Dodoma on October 10th and finally Dar es Salaam on October 17th to 18th this year,” she said.
Again, the BSS boss said that they have welcomed some new systems which will be used to select best performers and that they have also brought in new judges.
In a related development, she apologised to Tanzanians for the delays made by her company to pay last season’s BSS winner Meshack Fukuta his prize money.
“The delays were made due to challenges beyond our control such that we have learnt from the setbacks and will never happen again,” she said.
This year’s edition has been also supported by Startimes as co-sponsor and the firm’s Chief Executive; Carter Luo said they are proud to support the event so that it continues to produce quality musicians who will entertain the whole globe.
