Babongile Sikhonjwa
Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
SOCIALITE Babongile Sikhonjwa has been given the lease to run Hlabangana Lounge situated at Highlanders Football Club premises as from August 1.
This was revealed by Bosso chairman Kenneth Mhlophe during a review meeting on Sunday at the club house.
The Bulawayo socialite said his lease was five years long giving him ample time to turn around the fortunes of Hlabangana Lounge that has been lying idle for some time. He, however, said there was a lot to be done.
“We want to bring some excitement to the Highlanders’ brand with this lounge. August 1 is too close. I mean the place has been vacant for over 20 years and there’s a lot of work to be done.
“I think for real changes to take place, people can look forward to next season. My first priority is the lawn. There are dusty fields there and I’ll be working on them up until December because a lawn takes three to four months to grow and be up to standard,” said Sikhonjwa.
He said he wants to revamp Hlabangana Lounge to benefit the club.
“I want the football teams to have a place to train and cut down costs on hiring out football grounds to train. Also, I want Highlanders FC members to come to the Lounge and get shuttled to home matches with their drinks and gain entry into Emagumeni (at Barbourfields Stadium) ”
At the new lounge, Sikhonjwa hopes to attract the young Bosso entrepreneur, Bosso business executive and young Bosso supporters.
“Bosso supporters and well wishers are welcome to come and be part of it. As one of the team’s many nicknames says Ithimu yelizwe lonke (the team of the whole nation), we welcome everyone to help invest although I have some backing,” said Sikhonjwa.
He said part of his plans were that Hlabangana Lounge be turned into a family friendly spot and also open to weddings and other events when it’s done up.
This will mean that Sikhonjwa will now run two spots in the city as he is the proprietor of Red Cafe. Asked whether this would cause conflict with him running Red Cafe, Sikhonjwa said he had no issues with running the two.
“The two concepts are totally different from each other. I won’t have problems with running the Hlabangana Lounge and Red Cafe at the same time. Hlabangana Lounge is not a night club or bar while Red Cafe is more of a night time joint,” said Sikhonjwa.