Five out of seven members of the organizing committee of Miss Burundi 2018 announced their resignation on social media on July 3 due to some misunderstanding with the chairman of the committee.
Amine El Kosseifi: “I could not approve the whole budget while we have sponsorship for photos and videos”.
Amine El Kosseifi, the chairman of Burundi events organization, says the cause of the resignation was some misunderstanding between the members of the committee about how they would use the sponsorship they got to prepare the 2018 Miss Burundi contest. “The organizing committee proposed a budget for the preparation of the event which included the expenses for photos and videos. I approved the budget at 70%, excluding the cost of photos and videos because we had received sponsorship from Akeza.net,” he says.
He says those who resigned had obliged the chairman of the committee to approve the budget at 100% if not they would resign. “I could not approve the whole budget while we have obtained sponsorship for photos and videos. I let them decide themselves as they are mature people,” he says.
Mr Kosseifi says it is their right to stand down and adds that he respects their choice although he regrets the fact that their resignation was not formal as it was announced on social media.
The chairman of the committee says they struggle to get sponsorship for the cultural event. “This is the 3rd edition we have prepared together with the committee. It is very difficult to obtain sponsorship for the event but this should not be a reason to give up. Out of a budget of BIF 60 million required, the organizing committee has already received 18 million,” he says adding that Burundi events organization is ready to pay the rest and run the competition on July 18 as scheduled.
The five members of the organization committee who have resigned are Jean Michel (designer), Hervé (Photographer), André (Communication service), Linka (make-up service) and Noëlla (Administration). All of them were replaced on July 4th.
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