NAMAs a proudly Namibian showcase - MTC
Namibia Music Awards (NAMAs) executive member Tim Ekandjo says he is pleased with the overwhelming number of entries received for next year's ceremony, which have exceeded 800.
The growing popularity of the event is largely contributed to its professional set-up, which is second to none in Africa, he said. Ekandjo this week described the NAMAs as being a proudly Namibian success story.
“After seven years of the event we can with confidence say that it is one of the best delivered national award ceremonies in Africa,” he said.
According to Ekandjo the secret to the event's success is its “world-class governance structure” that allows independent bodies to work on the event. Both the vetting committee and the panel of judges are independent individuals who are experts in their own right, therefore applying only their expertise. Ekandjo said the organisers were proud of the fact that the event is 100% funded by Namibians, and more than 80% of its total budget is spent on local Namibian suppliers.
“This is something we can be extremely proud of. We have always maintained that this is a national event and that is why we invite multiple sponsors, and it is important that Namibians benefit from their own event in terms of direct spend and the other opportunities it creates for other industries like food, hospitality, fashion and local SMEs,” said Ekandjo.
He added that the NAMAs budget had always been transparent. Before every event the organisers publicly announced the total sponsorship, “which says a lot about our values of openness and transparency”.
Asked how the NAMAs budget was spent, Ekandjo was happy to share a breakdown in terms of percentages.
“Local logistics, which includes venue hire, hospitality, travel and accommodation, security and local aspects concerning the event, takes up about 37% of budget, and ... is spent directly on local suppliers only, with over 90% being SMEs,” he said.
“This is followed by the technical budget of the event, which includes staging, equipment, lights, AVs and the entire look and feel of the event, from concept to execution, taking up 28% of budget.
“Here we also only use local technical and audio companies. This is followed by the technical consultancy fees to Rockstar4000, taking up 21% of budget.
“These are our technical consultants on the project that together with the organisers render their expertise on the design and concept of the entire event.
“We recruit the technical consultants via an open and transparent tender process after every three years. This tender was run twice in our seven years of existence,” said Ekandjo. The N$10.2 million NAMA budget is made up of N$7.4 million sponsored by MTC, while N$2.8 million is contributed by other sponsors.
“We are extremely proud of this project, and MTC and NBC and all other sponsors will continue to ensure that we deliver world-class and memorable events in the best interest of our artists,” said Ekandjo.
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The growing popularity of the event is largely contributed to its professional set-up, which is second to none in Africa, he said. Ekandjo this week described the NAMAs as being a proudly Namibian success story.
“After seven years of the event we can with confidence say that it is one of the best delivered national award ceremonies in Africa,” he said.
According to Ekandjo the secret to the event's success is its “world-class governance structure” that allows independent bodies to work on the event. Both the vetting committee and the panel of judges are independent individuals who are experts in their own right, therefore applying only their expertise. Ekandjo said the organisers were proud of the fact that the event is 100% funded by Namibians, and more than 80% of its total budget is spent on local Namibian suppliers.
“This is something we can be extremely proud of. We have always maintained that this is a national event and that is why we invite multiple sponsors, and it is important that Namibians benefit from their own event in terms of direct spend and the other opportunities it creates for other industries like food, hospitality, fashion and local SMEs,” said Ekandjo.
He added that the NAMAs budget had always been transparent. Before every event the organisers publicly announced the total sponsorship, “which says a lot about our values of openness and transparency”.
Asked how the NAMAs budget was spent, Ekandjo was happy to share a breakdown in terms of percentages.
“Local logistics, which includes venue hire, hospitality, travel and accommodation, security and local aspects concerning the event, takes up about 37% of budget, and ... is spent directly on local suppliers only, with over 90% being SMEs,” he said.
“This is followed by the technical budget of the event, which includes staging, equipment, lights, AVs and the entire look and feel of the event, from concept to execution, taking up 28% of budget.
“Here we also only use local technical and audio companies. This is followed by the technical consultancy fees to Rockstar4000, taking up 21% of budget.
“These are our technical consultants on the project that together with the organisers render their expertise on the design and concept of the entire event.
“We recruit the technical consultants via an open and transparent tender process after every three years. This tender was run twice in our seven years of existence,” said Ekandjo. The N$10.2 million NAMA budget is made up of N$7.4 million sponsored by MTC, while N$2.8 million is contributed by other sponsors.
“We are extremely proud of this project, and MTC and NBC and all other sponsors will continue to ensure that we deliver world-class and memorable events in the best interest of our artists,” said Ekandjo.
STAFF REPORTER
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