Elegeyo-Marakwet beauties ready to showcase their talents in Iten contest

By FAITH RONOH

Elegeyo-Marakwet,KENYA; Devolution has not come with just the granting of national powers to county governments, but also the search and promotion of talent among the youth.

And Elgeyo/Marakwet County has not been left out as the search for Miss Tourism 2013 continues to intensify in a bid to empower youth. Auditions for final contestants organised by Chekenia International Community Centre were recently finalised with 20 participants: five from each of the four constituencies sailing through to the finals.

The County Executive Committee (CEC) in charge of Trade, Energy and Cooperative Ms Anne Kibosia, says the event is the first step towards the realisation of showcasing county’s rich resources and beautiful sceneries to the world. “The idea came at a time when county needed to showcase its rich resources and beautiful scenery to the world.  Therefore, the search for Miss Tourism Elgeyo/Marakwet County was only a first step into the realisation of this dream,” she says. And contrary to expectations that participation would be dismal, Ms Kibosia says the idea was received positively by contestants who turned up in large numbers.

The event organiser, Ms Lilian Jerono revealed that the finalists are currently undergoing one-week intense training at an academy where they are expected to learn a lot before the finale.

She says contestants will be judged on beauty, poise, personality and stage presence in their African and traditional wear, casual wear and formal wear competitions. In addition, judges will be looking out for intelligence, sincerity, honesty and good diction. “Contestants will be judged on their interview abilities that are appropriate for their age and maturity level.

The interview will also entail a five-minute discussion with the judges where judges will be looking out for intelligence, sincerity, honesty, and good diction among other things,” explains Jerono. And apart from just the competitions, the county, which is the main sponsor of the event, will task winners with the responsibility of marketing, showcasing and promoting various tourist destinations at county, national and even international level.

Governor Alex Tolgos says the event will be an opening for investment opportunities keeping in mind the fact that Elgeyo/Marakwet has enormous tourism potential. “We want to promote tourism by all means and this event is one of our broader plans to make this county a tourist destination. We also want to concentrate on other sectors like sports tourism even as we work towards building our economy,” says Tolgos. 

He adds: “we are grateful to our community because in embracing and participating in such events we will be able to move forward.  We also appreciate sponsors who have worked with us because this event could not have been a success without their support.”

The fete has been sponsored by Equity Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, MobileWorld and Kass FM.  The grand finale will take place on September 27 at Keelu Resort in Iten where other cultural events like dance and music will be performed. “Running the auditions has been a success. The fact that it is a new idea but a large number of people were willing to participate has been encouraging. We look forward to a great event during the grand finale,” says Jerono.