21 Apr 2021

Member of Parliament for Kanye South has  applauded Kanye taxi operators for organising themselves into a social club dubbed Bapegi.

Dr Lemogang Kwape said this following launch of the club and a soccer kit donated by Mr Thusego Mautla on Sunday. 

He said the platform would enable Bapegi to share ideas, experiences and serve the community with a unity of purpose rather than operating in silos.

Dr Kwape, also Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation, said the club would help members to find and support one another especially during times of need. 

This, he said, spoke to the nation’s founding pillar of self reliance and social cohesion.

As the club patron and community representative, Dr Kwape was optimistic that since they both served one customer, the liaison would help him to pick everyday issues that constituents contended with and close the service gaps.

Dr Kwape further said he usually donated disinfectants and sanitisers to help Bapegi keep COVID-19 at arm’s length.

Club chairperson, Mr Mopati Mathintsha, said the idea was born from a desire to compete in the constituency youth tournaments. 

Along the way, he said they shaped the idea beyond just ball games and formed a social club with the vision to have a meaningful impact in the community.

He said they were now in the process of formalising the association and thanked Kanye residents and sponsors among them AB Spares, WUSA and Dr Kwape for their support.

Mr Thapelo Molale from the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development said the ministry was proud to be associated with Bapegi. 

He was delighted that the services offered by the ministry ignited a spark in the minds of Bapegi.

He, however, advised Bapegi to be exemplary in the way they conducted business, so to have many other people associate with them. ENDS