Contrary to the belief by most folks that village life is unexciting, boring, primitive and is for the old and uneducated people who have surrendered their lives to the old fashioned ways of life, Makaleng Village in the North East District has defied that notion.
The tranquil sleepy village was recently treated to an establishment of a new state of the art night club, “If Not Y Not Club”, which is set to give the villagers and visitors, especially the night revelers, a taste of buzzing nightlife matching the lifestyles of the towns and cities.
In an interview with the Sunday Standard, the Marketing Manager of the night club, Prince Bafana Sebina, revealed that the entertainment centre was officially opened on the 16th of July this year in an effort to give colour to the night life of the village and the other neighbouring villages.
Although Makaleng is still a small village trying to catch up with developments, he said that one of the most important objectives to establish the club in such a village is that it will help people know Makaleng Village better and give the people in the towns and cities an opportunity to get out of the city and enjoy the night life in a serene and peaceful rural environment.
“We looking forward to seeing a flock of night revelers from places such as Francistown and other towns coming here to have a peaceful nightlife with an air of rural life,” he said.
Makaleng Village is known for producing one of the famous House DJ’s, DJ Fresh (Thato Sikwane) who has since remained an icon of house music.
However, Sebina went on to say that they are also looking forward to inviting DJ Fresh to grace their club as a local son of the soil. He further said that the club currently has two local DJ’s, DJ Lucky and DJ Shakes.
Sebina said that what makes the club a cut above the rest is that it has a spacious room, tight security and currently they have the lowest entrance fee of P10, which the customers can take advantage of.
He also mentioned that the club offers various types of music, for the mature and the youngsters, ranging from classics, Jazz, Hip Hop, House and country music.
“We will also host live performances of local artists, such as Ndingo Johwa, and we even expect to bring international artists, such as Oliver Mtukudzi and Ringo Madlingozi, at least before the end of this year.”
Sebina stated that before the club opened early this month, they had to invite local authorities such as the chief, village councilor and headmen from Makaleng and they all welcomed the initiative. He added that the villagers also welcomed the club with open arms as some of the youth will benefit from the employment by the club.
Although businesses such as nightclubs always bring about the negatives such as crime, alcohol abuse, prostitution, he said that they have pledged to the villagers that they will keep a vigilant eye and work hand in hand with the Police to make sure that such ills are circumvented.
Sebina said they are still looking at possible social responsibility initiatives that will help the people of Makaleng, especially the youth, in promoting their talents.
