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Peter Moyo

Entertainment Reporter
COMPETITION is intensifying in the entertainment industry with the emergence of new players offering unique packages while creating employment and providing service in the communities in which they operate.

One such player is the Traveller, a firm fronted by five former Rufaro Marketing workers, who are operating taverns in Dzivaresekwa and Mbare.

They have hosted musicians like Alick Macheso, Peter Moyo, Leonard Zhakata and Potifa Mopo among others at their venues while dance groups also frequent their stages.

Such shows have brought life to the venues that had lost relevance under Rufaro Marketing.

A manager in the group, Tapiwa Manomano, said they were geared to bring a world of convenience in the entertainment industry.

“I worked for Rufaro Marketing for close to 20 years. When the liquor undertaking departmentwent bust in 2012 I teamed up with four others to run businesses in the former employer’s premises and from there we never looked back,” he said in an interview recently.

“We are not trying to re-invent the wheel but to perfect service delivery while introducing exciting packages to beat the competition.”

The Traveller, which specialises in outdoor entertainment, currently employs 12 people with members of the Dzivaresekwa and Mbare communities allowed to run stalls in the fully licensed taverns.

Upcoming and established musical outfits get a chance to stage gigs every week to keep the communities entertained.

The group is behind the rebranding which has seen the Blue Bar in Mbare regain its yesteryear lustre.

It is now not unusual to find people from Mbare and surrounding high-density suburbs trooping there every weekend to unwind.

When Rufaro Marketing, which ran council bars, went bust owing to a serious viability crunch at the turn of the millennium, the bars had become an eyesore with some being turned into havens of thieves and prostitutes.

Some peri-urban farmers were even growing crops in the beerhalls, but this is no longer the case after former employees took over the running of the bars as part of their exit packages.