Paheja Siririka

WINDHOEK - MTC’s Chief of Human Capital and Corporate Affairs, Tim Ekandjo, has said the MTC was giving up its sponsoring boots for the Namibian Annual Music Awards (NAMAs) because all good things do end. 

“It’s an opportune time for us to say goodbye to the project,” he said.
Ekandjo said leaving the NAMAs does not mean they are exiting the industry. “Wrapping it up after eight or nine years would have been odd, celebrating 10 years is an opportunity for us to say bye in a good manner and comfortably say we are done with the NAMAs, ” explained Ekandjo. 

He said by next year, MTC would have invested over N$100 million in the music industry.
He took the opportunity to advise and give tips to any corporate company or companies that might take over the NAMAs’ sponsorship. “You have to invest money and most importantly don’t expect to get that money back. If you are going to venture into the NAMAs project thinking you are going to make money, it’s not the place for you,” stated Ekandjo.

He told Entertainment Now! that the NAMAs is a social responsibility project where one invests in artists with the hope that they are going to do well. “It is not about you as the investor, it’s about them (artists), I think it is a very important thing that any potential investor needs to understand,” detailed Ekandjo.
He further hinted on the need for a good production team. “You need to have a brilliant production team, a world-class production team. It should be diverse and the team doesn’t necessarily have to be from Namibia because the awards are competing with those of other ceremonies within the continent and the world so have a good production team and ensure there is good governance within the project,” he recommended.

Ekandjo observed most awards lose credibility because of people twitching the rules for some artists year in and year out. “Credibility is of utmost importance and a potential investor when taking over should also bear in mind that this is a taxing project, it ends the same year the preparations for the next one begins immediately. You need to have a strong team that believes and has passion for the project,” said Ekandjo.
The 2020 NAMAs’ entries officially opened earlier this week and close on December 13, 2019. The Executive Committee announced that only artists who have commercially released albums between December 1, 2018 and November 30, 2019, would be eligible for entry. The show is slated for May 2, 2020, at a place yet to be disclosed, with the committee having the Amta Fresh Produce Business Hub in Ongwediva in mind since they have bid to host there on numerous occasions but to no avail.

Ekandjo said no rules have been made for the 10th NAMAs except for a new category titled “Artist of the Decade”, which has been added to the awards. “Seeing that this is MTC’s last NAMAs, we wish to celebrate that one artist of the decade, which by definition is the artist that has won the most NAMAs accolades collectively over the NAMAs’ 10-year period,” explained Ekandjo.