Kgaphamadi's Infamous Reputation

Ike Vavi
Correspondent | Monday October 18, 2010 00:00

Given this scenario it is clear that apart from being one of the oldest and most populated slums in the Northern City, Kgaphamadi is infamously known as a location that boasts of many 'home bars' or spotos as they are commonly referred to.

'This area has been known for this kind of business for a long time. It is one aspect of the location that does not change.' argues Shango Mangisi.

She is disappointed that, people have accepted this lifestyle in this part of the city. 'Things need to change. As society evolves, the lifestyle in this area should not be allowed to remain stagnant. They should not feel proud about such an identity,' she says.

For her 'This is a challenge to the residents of this area. They need to strive for change. Some of the residents have been born and bred in this area. It is up to them to initiate some societal changes. They must be in a position to spearhead a mindset change - a  change that will be driven by the quest for a new identity and recognition. They must claim their rightful place in the history books and the large picture of this city and that cannot and will never be done through being well known for drunkenness,' she says. 

She is convinced that there is need for a turn around strategy in so far as the development and socio-economic upliftment of this area is concerned. 'The development of a society begins with the individual and must be driven by the individuals.

It is individuals within a particular area who should feel that enough is enough in terms of their current habit of perennial drinking. They must be the ones who should dictate the pace at which the transformation in terms of the image of the location moves,' she argues.

Kesone Ramogwana argues that, 'The expressions such as 'this is the kind of lifestyle in this area' should be dealt away with. Such expressions are an unfortunate way of endorsing, condoning and entrenching this unfortunate lifestyle.

Residents must see this as a collective challenge that needs a collective response in order for them to graduate from such an embarrassing form of identity. It all depends on whether the residents are content with the tag that their society has or not. If they see it as a problem they will definitely do something about it. If they see it as a normal way or their predestination, then they will do nothing and continue to give funny explanations such as 'Mo ke mo kasi' whenever bad things happen in their area,' she says.

She is concerned that it is because of this kind of lifestyle and the fact that the spotos are not regulated that has seen such areas becoming breeding grounds for social ills. 'This is a challenge to people of this location. They need to acknowledge that the lifestyle that characterises these areas makes it the root cause of most of the social ills. To fight against such issues therefore, calls for a complete overhaul of the residents' value system. They need to make the initiatives that will be aimed at changing the image of their location. They should not allow such ills to continue as part of the legacy that will be passed from one generation to the next,' she argues.

She maintains that,' The residents are the ones who are better placed to turn things around. The government should only feature in a supportive role. Residents must own up to the state of affairs in the location. They are the ones who know and understand their situation better. They even know better ways of tackling some of these socio- economic issues as they are familiar with them and even know their root causes;' she charges.

A psychology and Sociology lecturer at the institute of Health Sciences in Francistown, Anita Lebengo deposits that, 'Residents in areas such as this one display a high sense of territorial citizenry. They easily and strongly associate with the image of that area such that it becomes a source of pride for them, 'she says.

She says that the image of such locations is an embodiment of the sub culture that would have developed. 'This image explains the underlying culture of the place. It is this culture that drives the thinking of the residents and at times makes what an outsider finds a bit bizarre, a normal thing according to the residents' culture and experience in that territory. For example in such areas it will be normal to protect a thief from being caught by the police or to get to a spoto early in the morning.'

She says that this entrenched culture is usually passed from one generation to the next. 'This explains why the developments in terms of provision of social amenities in most cases do not have a corresponding change in terms of the mentality that prevails in such areas,' she explains.