Prophet Magaya's $1 million project collapses

AN ambitious US$1 million show by Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries leader, Prophet Walter Magaya has failed to take off amid a list of problems –from funding to composition of panel of judges assembled.

Titled African Talent Show, auditions had been set for tomorrow at the Yadah hotel between 7am and midnight but will NO LONGER take place and there is strong suspicion that it might have suffered still birth unless a complete overhaul is done.

Efforts to get a comment from Prophet Magaya were not successful by the time of going to print as he is understood to be out of the country.

People from neighbouring countries like Botswana, South Africa and Angola were believed to be making their way for the auditions given the financial rewards promised by Magaya while promoting the talent search show.

"African Talent Show seeks to identify and promote hidden African talent. We must start with singing and dancing, then we go to other talents. It must not only be for Zimbabwean participants, it is supposed to be African participants.

"It is not my money that I will be using. The partners that I have secured said whoever wins the competition will get a million," says Prophet Magaya in the promo.

However, H-Metro understands that people around Prophet Magaya were not convinced the project would achieve any of the projections. They instead view it as a costly adventure that has the potential of sinking Prophet Magaya and his business interests.

"On paper this was a grand project that would have put Zimbabwe on the map as the talent search show was set to be flighted on Yadah TV and DStv but there are doubts over capacity to stage such an event and only he (Prophet Magaya) knows what's going on.

"The figure of US$1 million is too much for an experimental show in an economy like Zimbabwe and the truth is there is no way Prophet Magaya and partners would afford to fund such an event.

"Prophet Magaya wants to do things at a grand scale but the proper way would have been to start very small, like the StarBrite on ZTV and then perfect the show before going regional and giving out US$1 million. Events elsewhere in Africa do not even have such a prizemoney yet there are solid sponsorships from huge corporates.

"It is on proper for Prophet Magaya to go back to the drawing board and do the proper thing otherwise it will be a disaster that will sink him and the church. There are many projects that both Prophet Magaya and the church can actually do using the US$1 million and be able to change lives," explained an authoritative source from within the church.

The other challenge that haunted the talent search is the composition of the judges panel put together for the contest.

There have been question marks on certain people who are being accused of making the panel on the basis of being known to Prophet Magaya yet incapable of handling an international talent search show where the winner pockets US$1 million.

"Prophet Magaya is too nice to people who get access to him and sometimes struggles to sideline them when opportunities come up. There are a number of dubious people on the judges' panel and very few people actually know how they made it there.

"How was the selection conducted? "

Was this project real or it was a joke?

We await Prophet Magaya's return to get all the answers on the false start. For now, what is known is that there will be NO auditions tomorrow.