The Zimbabwe Music Awards (Zima) organisers have set a target of April to hand over the house they promised to Chimurenga singer Dickson Chingaira, popularly known as Cde Chinx, three years ago.
In 2014, as part of their return from a seven year hiatus, Zima organisers awarded Cde Chinx the Chairman’s Award in the form of a house for his contribution to music and the liberation struggle. Cde Chinx was given a key to a fourbed roomed house that was under construction in Harare’s Mabelreign suburb.
The move was meant to bring to an end Cde Chinx’s shuttling between Chitungwiza and Norton where his two wives reside. When Cde Chinx received the award, he cried tears of joy, with fans and many Zimbabweans applauding the move. However, Zima for the past three years, have been failing to complete the house with the organisers being on record as saying they had underestimated the task at hand.
Zima spokesperson Farai Chapoterera said they want to settle the issue once and for all and in April, Cde Chinx should be walking into his new home. “We want to put the matter of Cde Chinx’s house to bed and in April we should be handing it over to him. The guys who’ve been constructing the house had taken a break and they’ve returned to finish it off. What is left is the water and electrical installations which I’m overseeing,” said Chapoterera. She said they were now working on finalising who to honour with the Life Time Achievement Award.
In terms of the Life Achievement award, we still looking at some candidates and we haven’t settled for any. We’re waiting for the chairman Joseph Nyadzayo who is out of the country and should be back at the end of this month.
That’s when we shall finalise,” said Chapoterera. She said tentatively the dates for the awards ceremony for last year’s musical works would be sometime in April. “In the first week of February we shall tell people when we shall start taking entries for them to be nominees. Hopefully we’re looking at having an event in April and that date shall be released in the middle of the month,” said Chapoterera