How Werrason show exposed industry failure

Dar es Salaam. Congolese music has always been welcome news in most parts of East Africa despite the fact that many of today’s millennials prefer listening to Bongo Flava.

Shows by some of rumba’s stalwarts are such as Fally Ipupa, JB Mpiana, Koffi Olomide and Werrason are always a sold out affair.

Therefore the announcement that Congolese crooner Werrason was set to perform in Tanzania on a two date show was a breath of fresh air for it had been a long time since a show of that nature was held in Dar es Salaam.

Apart from Dar, he was also set to perform in Mwanza and the administrative capital Dodoma.

The first show was set for April 7, but that was not to be as the singer and his band failed to make it in time and even after he finally arrived by mid week still the show hadn’t taken place almost two weeks later.

Though the original problem was with the singer, for which he has apologized, whatever followed was an act of nature as the heavens opened leaving the city in a pool of water for almost three days of down pour.

Organisers say the airline which was supposed to carry his entourage without warning changed the flight schedule; they arrived on the same night the show was scheduled to take place.

When the day finally arrived the heavy down pour could hardly allow smooth flow of traffic in the city and by all means the promoters were bracing themselves for another drama.

Despite the beautiful set up at Escape One, the rains just couldn’t stop pounding as revellers were forced to seek for shelter as the resident DJ of the day played some of Werrason’s hits, something that kept the crowd going for a while.

At that point the revellers who had turned up hoped against hope that the rains would stop but by 1 am there was no sign that it would stop, they had to postpone the show to the next day to another venue.

This time they opted for an indoor arena at the King Solomon Hall in Kinondoni but this too backfired as the downpour continued leaving the hall flooded.

Not even the roads leading to the hall were accessible, right from the Ali Hassan Mwinyi Road the road was a pool of water causing some vehicles to come to a standstill.

Business in Dar es Salaam and its environs had come to a standstill with roads such as Morogoro Road and schools closed due to massive flooding and residents were advised to stay indoors for their own safety.

By all means constant postponements of a show of that magnitude will translate into costs for the hosts, revellers and even to the artiste himself.

Lugendo Mhina had twice travelled from Mbeya to attend this show and was left counting losses close to some Sh600,000.

“Apart from the tickets I had to take care of myself plus my travel from Mbeya and still the show won’t take place due to the heavy rains,” says Lugendo.

Lugendo was not alone there were others who had made trips from Tanga, Moshi and even Arusha just get a glimpse of the rumba idol.

Some had by Wednesday given up on the show ever taking place whereas some continued with their resolve to carry on waiting for the Congolese’s performance.

Organisers still believe that the show will go on as planned after the rains subside something that the TMA forecast suggested it might take the whole week.

Though this was more of a problem to the organisers but the postponements laid bare the weaknesses that the entertainment industry in Tanzania faces.

As it stands, apart from the other problems that the industry faces such as lack of functioning systems, the infrastructure is just none existent as a result forcing shows of that magnitude to be organised in open spaces.

Most of these areas such as Escape One were built for a very different purpose but due to lack of suitable infrastructure show organisers end up settling for such venues.

Venues such as the Diamond Jubilee Hall were not constructed for such purposes despite having the capacity to hold up to 3000 people.

There are insiders who claim that this is the main reason why some high profile shows can’t come to Tanzania and on addition to that given the City Council laws such performances cannot go beyond certain hours of the night.

It must have been a very disappointing experience for the fans, Werrason’s crew and the show’s organisers but these rains will probably act as a wakeup call for those who had not seen investment opportunities in this industry.

With the growing fortunes of the local genre, Bongo Flava which is home to some of Africa stars and other forms of arts may be it is time for such investments to grace the local scene.

The benefits that come with such investments be it private or government is huge, the football fraternity could be the greatest example in Tanzania today.

When the plan to build a multi-billion 60,000 capacity was first floated not many so the sense yet the benefits that local teams and national team have reaped are far from their wildest imagination.

The visit of the Celecao the Brazilian national team in 2010 and most recently Everton who all played on this venue are some of the gains that Football has reaped from this investment.

The music industry though still very informal it employs almost 50,000 youth both directly and indirectly, this is some substantial human capital that can be of value to potential investors.