FROM RICE BAG TO BALLOT BOX: The Story of Activator Manganyi Nyiko Lovemore – ANC Ward 28 Candidate

In Ward 28 of Collins Chabane Local Municipality, where villages like Xikundu, Xifaxani, Magomani and Gonani share dusty roads and a deep history of resilience, a familiar face has emerged as the ANC’s Ward Councillor candidate for the Local Government Elections on 04 November 2026: Manganyi Nyiko Lovemore.

He is not new to struggle, nor new to service. He is an ACTIVATE! Change Drivers graduate (2019 Cohort), YEP Champion 2020, Hub Writer, author, and long-serving community organiser.

This is his journey from activism to governance.

Raised in Shikundu, Forged by Poverty

Nyiko was born and raised in Shikundu Village, under Chief Shikundu, in the heart of Vhembe. Raised by a single mother who worked as a farm labourer on a rice and tomato farm in Polokwane, he learned early what hardship meant.

“I never told my mother that I didn’t have a school bag. I had lost it the previous year in Standard 8 at Shikundu High School. So I took an empty Tastic rice bag she brought home every month and put my books inside,” he recalls.

Other learners laughed. But when heavy rains came on the 4km walk to school, his plastic rice bag kept his books dry while fancy bags failed.

“Being raised in poverty was nothing to me because I knew that one day, I will be somewhere in life. Fancy clothes and food were not my thing because I was always buried in my books.” he said

That determination still defines him.

The Activator Who Became an Organiser

In 2019, Nyiko joined the ACTIVATE! Change Drivers programme. He says he applied because “politics was ripe and I needed new skills to take my organisation to greater heights.”

ACTIVATE! gave him tools in pitching, proposal writing, scaling community projects, and leadership.

Today he is Executive Member and Board Member of Xifaxani Youth Foundation (XYF-C949-LP), Director of MVNE Tech Digital Enterprise and Director of South African Youth Economic Funds (SAYEF). Through SAYEF and the National Youth Service programme under SAAYC, his foundation created job opportunities for 83 young people who earned a R2500 stipend working on food security and garden projects.

He is also a published author. His book is available on the ACTIVATE! website. He holds qualifications in Information Technology (ICollege), Public Management and Governance (UNISA / YALI Regional Leadership Centre), Scriptwriting, Facilitation, Entrepreneurship (NYDA & ProductivitySA), and over 15 YALI Network certificates in leadership, governance, human rights and business.

But his real classroom has been the community.

He has served as:

– Team Leader, National Youth Service under SAAYC & Xifaxani Youth Foundation

– Ward Committee Secretary and Head of Technical Services (Electricity, Roads, Sanitation) for Ward 28

– Deputy Chairperson, SANCO Xifaxani Branch (2022-2026)

– Chairperson, Shikundu Clinic Committee

– Secretary, Shikundu Proclamation Task Team

– Administrator at Shikundu High, Mayeke Primary and Tlhelani Primary schools

– Deputy Chairperson of SANCO Xifaxani and leader of Epilepsy Awareness and 16 June Youth programmes

ANC Work: Learning from a Giant

Nyiko’s political home is the ANC. He has 11 years in the ANCYL and 6 years in the ANC mother body.

“No one can compete with Cllr Mabasa Joseph. He has 25 years as Ward Councillor. He is the pillar of Collins Chabane Municipality. He trained me from ANCYL in 2009 and ANC from 2015 about politics, ANC policy and government policy.” he said

He currently serves as a BEC member of both ANCYL Collins Chabane Ward 28 and ANC Collins Chabane Branch (elected 2021).

On 13 June 2026, at Tlhelani Primary School Hall, a Branch General Meeting identified four candidates. After community consultations in five voting districts – Magomani Primary, Gonani Primary, Shikundu High, Tlhelani Primary and Mayeke Primary – and the withdrawal of one candidate, Manganyi Nyiko Lovemore emerged as the final ANC councillor candidate for Ward 28 on 19 June 2026.

Why Ward 28?

“I want to network with all stakeholders and community to help with service delivery,” he said

He lists the top 3 problems in Ward 28 as: Job creation, internal streets, and a community hall.

His vision is aligned to the ANC 2024 Manifesto’s 6 Action Areas, which he passionately translated into Xitsonga during his acceptance:

Water, electricity and services for all, more jobs and investment where people live, ssfer streets, cleanliness and better health. Municipal money must serve the people, build well-run municipalities and fight corruption, build municipalities that listen and are accountable.

“A ndzi rhandzi ku tshembhisa vanhu tilo ni misava… I don’t want to promise people heaven and earth that I cannot achieve. I am not a person of speeches but a person of action,” he said

What Makes Him Different?

He does not claim to be better than his mentor, Cllr Marhekerhe Mabasa. He claims to be a continuation – a younger, tech-savvy, activist-trained leader who understands both government systems and village realities.

His heroes are late Minister Collins Chabane, late Mayor Bigmos Maluleke, Cllr Marhekerhe Joseph Mabasa, and Cde Jabulani Makhubele – men who taught him that leadership is service.

When he is not doing politics, he is a Hub Writer for ACTIVATE!, a community developer, and a writer passionate about using technology to solve poverty, unemployment and lack of education.

His Message on 4 November

“Vanhu hinkwerhu hi ti 4 ta November a hi tekaneni na mindyangu ya hina hi nkwerhu hi ya hlawula, hi hlawula kahle, hi hlawula vandla leri tivekaka… Ballot 1 vota ANC, Ballot 2 vota ANC, Ballot 3 vota ANC. Amandla!” he said

To young Activators across South Africa, his message is simple: Activism must lead to active citizenship. Don’t just complain about local government – contest it.

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About the Author:

Thatoyaone Moepetsane is a member of the Activate! Writers Hub and ACTIVATE! Change Drivers Network. A South African writer and political analyst from Tlakgameng, North West, he writes accessible analysis on governance, youth unemployment, service delivery, and civic education. His work has appeared on Activate!, IOL, and The Star. He is the author of Voice of Voiceless: The Voice That Was Never Heard and Director of Thato Digital Solutions (Pty) Ltd.