The National Arts Council has shaken things up this year by deciding to skip the usual announcement of nominees and voting process for the Ngoma Awards. This decision was made to address concerns that subjecting awards to public votes often favour an artiste’s social media following, rather than evaluating their artistic contributions to the industry. Council Director Maanka Adrian Chipindi cites an incident last year where Chile One won almost all the awards at the 2022 Ngoma Awards because the ‘disciplinary committee’ had ganged up against Yo Maps. In an interview with Diggers Lite, Chipindi also reveals that all artistes who won last year’s awards have received their payments. This year marks the 19th edition of the Ngoma Awards, commemorating...