Ward 81 in River Park gets its messenger
ALEXANDRA -– Active youth in Ward 81 form the Bramley Lombardy Lyndhurst and Kew (BLLK) Youth Forum that tackles community issues.
Bramley resident Theophilus Kgotso Lengwati will be running in the upcoming Local Government Elections on November 1 as an independent candidate for Ward 81 in his capacity as a ‘chosen messenger of the people’.
Speaking in an interview with Alex News on October 19, Lengwati, popularly known as ‘Theo’ to his peers, indicated that he had not chosen to stand in the upcoming elections but that the people of the ward hand-picked him as the chosen one.
It all started in 2019 when Lengwati and a group of friends decided to form a group communication platform on WhatsApp to share experiences, job opportunities, events, entertainment and to some extent pertinent issues around their community and the group eventually grew to well over 260 members.
Lengwati said one day they noticed workers busy in the Bramley Gardens Park and decided to inquire as to what was happening and he was also in search of job opportunities for locals. The group, after unfruitful weeks of conversations around non-employment of local people residing in the ward, decided to stop the work being carried out until their grievances were addressed.
“City Parks and Zoo appreciated the concerns we had raised and came to the party to resolve the various concerns the group had tabled. “It was after this that the group decided to anoint me as their leader and we eventually formed the Bramley, Lombardy, Lyndhurst and Kew (BLLK) Youth Forum and I was elected its first chairperson,” said Lengwati (33).
When issues around the elections surfaced, Lengwati said the forum then decided to put up their own candidate and again they anointed him. “Our work is cut out for us and as young people, we have proved ourselves on numerous community projects and I can assure ward residents we will not disappoint. Ke rumilwe sentle sentle [I’m the chosen messenger],” he said in his native Setswana.
“Let’s put our trust in something different and see where that takes us. We want to build a legacy of successful service delivery and community building.”
