Dear Community,

Every time a resident joins the Facebook group, I try and engage with them to find out where they are from, and if they are members of the BRA or interested in becoming members.  I have been told before that I’m “aggressively” pursuing membership.

So when I went into the same question and answer session with a new joiner recently and was asked “What’s in it for me?” it got me thinking.  What IS in it for you?  What’s in it for me, or for any of us?  

For years, since before I even moved to Buccleuch, it seems as if Buccleuch was kind of “forgotten” by the City – not QUITE important enough to really care about.  This, coupled with the fact that our suburb has fairly dense complexes, and that complexes can quickly turn into their own little micro-cosmos, has led to what I feel is quite a sad state for our potentially beautiful suburb.

Adding to this a historical reputation as a crime-ridden area, is bound to have a detrimental effect on property values, and so form a vicious circle.  This circle is not only economic in nature, but also social – how often have we heard reports of people being mugged/robbed on the streets of Buccleuch?  

Isn’t a suburb supposed to be a place where families can safely walk in the streets – without fear of being criminally assaulted, or run over by speeding lunatics?

So now we have the BRA, a small group of dedicated directors, some visible and vocal, some quietly working behind the scenes (all of whom still pay the membership contribution).  

We are supported by a dedicated, but equally small membership, who contribute financially and with their time to help us to make this suburb better, for all of us who live here.

Our list of successes are plastered all over Facebook and Telegram – because we are very proud of them, so here goes: 

• The increased service delivery presence that started last week is the result of months of hard work and lobbying to the city.
• We support the Sandton BRA Guardians (one of our directors is the Area Convener) and also paid for and installed the LPR cameras guarding our entrances – we still carry the monthly fee for these cameras’ licensing.
• The Fibre installation currently underway by Vumatel was the result of engagements by some of our members who formed a subcommittee to drive, engage and investigate getting Fibre into Buccleuch
• Ad hoc clean-ups as part of the City’s A Re Sebetseng initiative but also privately funded smaller clean-ups by our members and directors – recently one of our members rehabilitated and beautified a random sidewalk in Buccleuch and this past weekend one of our directors funded the cleanup of Buccleuch Drive.
• Some of our members are also privately funding a weekly clean-up of Parkville Place.
• There are many other things being done by residents and members – if you want to do something, change something or have ideas – let us know, join us and let’s make it happen.

We are not a for-profit organization, we aren’t here to inflate our egos, we don’t want to use your money to pay ourselves salaries – we are concerned, active citizenry trying to work together for improvement.  Are we representative of everyone’s views in Buccleuch?  Certainly not.  Is our mission and vision for Buccleuch the same as yours?  Maybe, but maybe not.  The only way that we can represent the majority of Buccleuch residents is if the majority of Buccleuch residents join us, support us and make their voices heard – together for One Buccleuch.

In short, that’s what I think is “in it for you” – helping us to help you to make this the place that we know it can be; become active and drive the change, instead of commenting from the sidelines; dig in and get your hands dirty so you can feel the satisfaction with us, as you see this big, cumbersome ship changing course for the better.

Do I have to say:  “Please consider joining us” again?

See you on the streets,
Johan