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Fred Zindi Music
Jah Prayzah, who was the biggest winner this year – is no doubt one of the best musicians at the moment. Many people have respect for the man because the creativity he brings on stage, is second to none. Jah Prayzah scooped four awards in the Outstanding Male Musician, Outstanding Album, Outstanding Song and People’s Choice categories.

Everyone I spoke to thinks that NAMA adjudicators gave the four awards to someone who deserves them.
However, complaints have been pouring in about the just-ended 13th NAMA awards ceremony and many musicians feel cheated. Either the National Arts Council is not giving the public enough information about how the awards are conducted and what criteria is used towards the selection of the judges and the nominees in this competition or the public is simply hard to please.

There are several questions to be answered: Who are the judges?
How are the judges selected? Why are the names of the judges kept a secret?
What do the judges know about music? How do they arrive at the selection of nominees?

I will not try to answer any of these questions because I do not work at the National Arts Council although I introduced the concept of awarding artistes to them way back in 2000.
People are mainly concerned with how the National Arts Council conducts the adjudication of music.
Listening to Zororo Makamba’s ZiFM Radio interview with Audrey Charamba of the National Arts Council last Thursday, when  he asked for the names of the judges, Audrey refused to divulge this information saying that Zimbabweans were not yet ready or mature enough to receive that information.

This kind of response raises suspicion. One musician asked me, “What is the connection between Audrey Charamba and Mai Olivia Charamba?” I simply told him that I did not know.

The art of adjudication is one many of us have to learn through experience alone. For some, that experience will come exclusively from being a participant in competitions and music events rather than on the other side of the desk.

For others, it will come through training and expert knowledge of music.
I have been a NAMA adjudicator on several occasions over the years and I must be honest and say that although it is now 13 years since the inception of NAMA, there are still no systems or clear rules in place.

For instance, some of the adjudicators who are selected to judge music do not even have an idea what music is all about.
They are unable to distinguish between harmony and timbre or to identify a discord by a singer but are asked to judge the quality of music from a given CD.

There is no marking system that NAMA uses. Do marks start at 80? Or is 80 the equivalent of a winning performance?
Talk to the NAMA organisers about this and they will tell you that they are not sure how the judges end up with the selected musicians, yet they are responsible for choosing the judges.

Sometimes the judges’ decisions are overruled by the organisers. They are aware that the “system” in place at the moment is fraught with anomalies and this is why they are not keen to let the public know who is doing the judging.

This important element of any music competition is often taken for granted since the behind-the-scenes arrangements for judges takes place weeks, and sometimes even months, before the actual contest.

Also forgotten is the fact that the majority of those best qualified to evaluate music performances  should come from the rank and file of our music educators who daily work with music students. There are also many music experts who are detached from the NAMA contest who could act as adjudicators. People like Dr Gibson Mandishona, Clancy Mbirimi, Delani Makhalima, Greenford Jangano, Kelly Rusike, Mono Mukundu, Chris Timbe, Joyce Makwenda, Neil Chapman, Peter Muparutsa, Walter Mujuru and many music producers within the country qualify as adjudicators due to their many years’ experience with music, yet these are hardly considered. These could be selected as judges, but they must declare their interest to avoid favouritism. They must also be fair and honest people.

Teachers of music with at least five years’ experience also qualify as adjudicators. These teachers  would give significant time for minimal compensation in order to serve as judges for NAMA music contests.

Without their willingness to serve in this capacity, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to provide a level of adjudication that is commensurate with the quality of music that exists in our country.

The NAMA awards have come and gone, but the nominees and the eventual winners have left followers puzzled.
This year’s edition was held under the theme “Unite, Excite and Educate Zimbabwe” on its proud heritage and diversity through arts and culture.

For an artiste to be nominated for this year’s awards, their work should have been created between December 1, 2012 and November 30, 2013.

However, many observers believe that some of the nominees in the music industry, did not excel in the period under review and obviously casting doubt that the awards were a true reflection of the  music industry at the moment.

On February 5, 2014 Nicholas Moyo, the Deputy Director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, said they had an overwhelming 664 entries across categories for the 13th edition of the NAMA awards.

This statement suggests that those who ended up being nominated for the awards had voluntarily entered the contest by submitting their works of art for consideration.

Terrence Mapurisana, writing on the social network site, Facebook, questioned why he was nominated for the outstanding journalist (television) award when he had not submitted his work for consideration.

“Now how is that possible that I didn’t submit any of my works yet I found my name on the nominees list?
“Was that a miracle nomination, I shudder to wonder?  Indeed there is need for some investigation,” he complained.
Ken Conscious, a musician-cum-comedian wrote: “To hell with this NAMA thing. I think if you are not already popular, you don’t stand a chance. It’s not about merit any more. These awards are being held just to fulfil certain people’s agendas.”

Another musician, who wants to remain anonymous, had this to say, “They had to give an award to someone from Bulawayo whether he is good or not. What has Jeys Marabini done nationally which deserves a National Arts award? Even in Bulawayo itself, no one cares about him,” he quipped. With the above complaints, irregularities and inconsistencies, the credibility of one of Zimbabwe’s premier arts awards is being thrown into the air.

It seems NAMA is slowly losing its grip on our society and  if the organisers are not careful, very soon its significance among musicians will be lost.

Its insignificance is already beginning to show as certain personalities often associated with NAMA were conspicuous by their absence at this year’s ceremony.

The likes of Elvas Mari, director of National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and Cont Mhlanga, director of Amakhosi Culture Centre were not seen at the ceremony.

Perhaps it is now time to establish a properly-run music only awards ceremony to avoid this controversy.

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