What really happened to the Kora Awards?

On top of that, the organisers announced that they were introducing a grand prize of one million US Dollars for the winner of the African Artist of the Year category, while the various category and genre winners will all take home between $20 000 and $50 000 (depending on the category) – a far greater amount than other regional or national awards are able to offer (many of which face ongoing criticism, most recently in Ghana and Zambia).

First staged in 1996, the Kora Awards have been held in various African countries over the years, including South Africa, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. The reason for its planned relocation to Namibia was apparently that the original idea for the awards were first conceived by Namibian President Dr Hage Geingob and Benin-born businessman Ernest Adjovi, at that time a resident of Namibia.

Namibia’s government had reportedly endorsed the Koras through its Ministries of Tourism, Information and Youth as a way of promoting Namibia, while the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) had also been roped in as a production partner.

Alarm bells may have started ringing, however, around the time of the announcement of the massive cash payout. Where would the money come from? Could the Namibian government, sponsors and the public afford to foot the bill?

Concerns would have been raised further when the initial date of the awards, 13 December 2015, came and went without the Koras taking place at the Windhoek Country Club Resort and Casino. Around this time, the nominees were revealed and a new date was set for 20 March 2016.

Second time lucky?

While rumours swirled that the organisers and their partners in the host nation simply could not afford to fund the event, founder Ernest Adjovi apparently blamed difficulties in securing the venue, the large size of the production team and the complexity of importing and setting up a special ‘dome’ from South Africa.

In early March, a few weeks before the rescheduled awards were meant to take place, Music In Africa contributor Ndapewoshali Shapwanale reported in The Namibian that a source at the Windhoek Country Club said the awards' organisers were using an office at the venue and not yet received any communication about a possible cancellation.

According to the article, a member of a special committee set up at Namibia’s Ministry of Home Affairs to deal with visa and work permit issues for the crew and musicians had confirmed receiving visa applications, but said the committee had not yet started to process them because most of the applications had outstanding documents.

The Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) had reportedly already paid millions for promotional packages, although its chief executive officer Digu //Naobeb would not say how much. In February, the NBC's corporate affairs manager Umbi Karuaihe-Upi said the national broadcaster had pledged N$1,8 million (about US$124 000) worth of airtime to the awards ceremony, but by early March had still not received any official communication from the organisers as to whether or not the awards would take place.

Namibian Kora representatives Tonata Shiimi and Florence Vangah, who manned the Kora office in Windhoek, were unable to comment at the time on any imminent cancellation, instead directing all questions to the Kora’s communications agent, Marang Setshwaelo in South Africa.

Unsurprisingly, given the degree of secrecy and confusion surrounding the event, the Kora Awards once again failed to materialise on 20 March.

Kora organisers apologise for another postponement, deny cancellation

Via the Kora Facebook page and website Adjovi and his company Mundial Telecom SARL have stressed that the Koras have not been cancelled but simply postponed until further notice, stating that the organising teams had “embarked on a dedicated campaign to pull the event together” and were “preoccupied with arrangements” to secure a venue, accommodation for guests and “sponsorship revenue to deliver the event”.

Adjovi singled out the difficulties in bringing the ill-fated SUPA Dome and other technical equipment into Namibia as the main cause for the postponement. “In early February, our supplier alerted us to the necessity of securing clearance for the dome and the equipment to cross the border from South Africa into Namibia,” he stated. “We immediately commenced with efforts to secure this clearance with the relevant authorities to enable the crossover. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we have to date, not received the clearance to enable our supplier to move the structure and equipment into Namibia in time for a March 20th event date. As we speak, we are still pursuing this crucial waiver. As such, we have had to take the difficult decision to postpone the Kora All-Africa Music Awards.”

Better late than never, but Adjovi’s comments fail to consider why these logistical obstacles only seem to have emerged in February, when the initial date of the awards was two months earlier.

“As disappointed as we are by this development, we remain committed to delivering the event we promised the Namibian people,” continued Adjovi. “We are confident in the Kora’s power to be a transformative agent in African artists’ lives, and are single-minded in our efforts to ensure that the event takes place as a fitting tribute to African artists. We would like to take this opportunity to express our regrets to all those impacted by the postponement, and assure them that no one is more disappointed by this development than we are – we also reiterate our commitment to delivering a memorable Awards event. Upon agreement of all the stakeholders and partners, an announcement will be made about the new date the soonest possible.”

When approached this week by Music In Africa for further comment, communications agent Setshwaelo referred us to Adjovi’s official response, adding: “There has been no shift in the position – once we’ve received an update from our client, we will alert the media accordingly.”

Confusion and anger from the public

The second postponement and Adjovi's subsequent apology have been met with mixed reactions on social media. One follower, Curtis Walton Zambio Ntawa, expressed concerns about the public votes that had already been cast for the nominees via the Kora website, arguing “We spent money to vote”. The Kora team replied to say that all votes already cast would be taken into account when (or rather, if) the awards do finally take place.

Other followers are angrier. For example, one Joe Mupondo Howards labelled the Kora organisers “useless” and called for someone to be fired or to resign. He called out the organisers for their apparent “lack of professionalism and poor management skills”, asking “Do you have an idea of the inconvenience you have caused?” and “Why didn’t you have back-up plan?” These sentiments are surely shared by many other lovers of African music.

Will the Kora Awards ever see the light of day this year? According to the organisers, yes - eventually. But given the circumstances - the confusion and secrecy, the excuses, the logistical obstacles and the massive budget required (for the prizes alone, let alone everything else), not to mention Adjovi's somewhat dubious track record in hosting the event - it would probably be wise to not hold your breath just yet…