The executive management of the nbc met with ||Kharas Governor Aletha Frederick and other stakeholders at Keetmanshoop to discuss the prospects of hosting the pageant in the region.
The Luderitz Waterfront Development Company expressed interest in hosting the coveted pageants at Luderitz.
Against this backdrop, the nbc executive management, led by its Chief News and Programming Officer, Menesia Muinjo, held consultations with stakeholders.
"Why we are here today, we started with Luderitz because the initial call to say let's move to ||Kharas Region came from Luderitz Waterfront Development Company, and when mentioning that, I must mention that I am related to the CEO there because our country is working on governance and ethical leadership compliance. We need to declare this conflict of interest, and in fact, I am not completely part of the pageant because there is a CEO there, Mrs. Umbi Karuaihe-Upi. I am only standing in for the DG because he had a board meeting."
nbc Director General Stanley Similo also joined the consultative meeting briefly via Skype.
"When we took over the pageant, we made it clear it would not be a Windhoek-based entity any longer. It must go to all corners of Namibia. It's against that background that a high-powered delegation was sent down to meet first all the town itself where we intend to have the event. I think, based on the feedback I received, they had good, quiet discussions. But we also agreed we could not just come into the kraal without speaking to the chief because our presence in the region would be extremely illegal," said Similo.
Excited about the prospects, stakeholders accepted the opportunity to host the grand event.
They were convinced that the region has the potential to host pageants that aim to celebrate beauty, talent, and intelligence while promoting charitable causes.
"It is an opportunity for us as a region; it is an opportunity for the business community; it is an opportunity for us as a region to showcase what we have, and it all shows that big things are coming to the region, even though they will address the economic challenges that we have," said Fredericks.
nbc, the license holder, together with the co-sponsor, will soon make an official announcement about which town will host the pageants scheduled for the end of July.