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SWAMA PRESIDENTâ€™S AWARD RENAMED IN HONOUR OF MIKE TEMPLE

By Delisa Thwala | 2019-10-21

THE SWAMA Awards President’s Special Recognition Award has been renamed to ‘Mkhanyakudze Special Recognition Award’ to honour the late Senator Mike Temple.

This was confirmed by SWAMA President Melusi ‘Zox’ Dlamini through a press statement sent to the entertainment desk.

“This is to honour the late Senator Mike Temple, a passionate and huge contributor towards the development of the arts industry in the Kingdom,” said Dlamini. The president also added that the name change has been fully blessed by Temple’s family and friends.

The president also clarified that the special award was not voted for by the public.

“It is a special recognition award and awarded by the sitting President of SWAMA to any individual who is not a practicing musician but has contributed immensely towards the development and recognition of music as an art form in Eswatini and beyond our borders. This award was introduced in 2018 where there recipient was Metro FM Radio Legend Wilson B Nkosi.

The MTN SWAMA Awards Yellow Carpet ceremony will be held on the December 7 at Royal Swazi Convention Centre. This year’s MTN SWAMA Awards takes an innovative direction with its focus on ‘Monetising Your Music’. This announcement was made across digital platforms, giving viewership access to the whole country and beyond.

Dlamini further added that they were trying to be fair and visible therefore they have re-engaged their auditors.

“To maintain fairness, transparency, accountability and a prestigious celebration of our local arts industry, we have re-engaged auditing firm KPMG for the 2019 edition of the MTN SWAMA Awards,” said Dlamini. He also said the Most Downloaded Caller-Tune would not be voted for by the public but adjudicated based on the number of downloads.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is a special award which would also not be voted for by the public but would be awarded to a musician who has contributed immensely to the growth of the music industry in the Kingdom of Eswatini since Independence. Public voting has surpassed the 20 000 mark. One month is still left for voting and the public is encouraged to vote for their favourite artists to ensure they win.

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