Author: Grocott's Mail Contributors

By Sipesihle Mguga Maintenance claims against the estate Spouses and children of the deceased can lodge maintenance claims against a deceased estate. If you are married and your spouse dies, you are entitled to lodge a claim against your deceased spouse’s estate for maintenance. This also applies to a customary law wife. This is defined as “reasonable maintenance needs until death or remarriage insofar as he/she is not able to provide for his/her own means and earnings”. Essentially, if you are financially unable to provide for your own basic needs, you can claim from the estate of your spouse.…

The aim of this article is to provide a general understanding on how a deceased estate should be administered. It is important to understand who will take control of the estate of the deceased, pay all the creditors and administration costs, and then transfer the balance of the estate to the rightful heirs of the deceased. This is known as the administration of the deceased estate. The entire administration process, takes place under the supervision of the Master of the High Court. Role and function of the Master of the High Court The Master of the High Court is appointed…

By KAY PEPPER Often, we hear success stories of young people making great strides towards a successful future, but rarely do we hear about the older generation transforming their lives, especially in terms of becoming successful business women. Local NGO, the Ubunye Foundation has helped start life again for a group of older women living near Grahamstown by enrolling them (all aged between 50 and 69 years) in a micro Masters of Business Administration programme (micro MBA). The Ubunye Foundation is a local NGO centred in the Ngqushwa and Makana sub districts. Ubunye, meaning togetherness in isi-Xhosa, works with these…

There are various ways used to measure the health of the public schooling system in South Africa. The best known of these methods is the overall Matric pass rate, announced every year by the Minister of Basic Education in early January. Indeed, in a couple of months’ time Grocott’s Mail will use school pass rates, amongst other measures, to assess the performance of the local ‘class of 2017’. There are problems though, that are associated with narrowly looking at percentage pass rates, one of which is that it doesn’t take the size of the full cohort into account. This matter…

“Remember, remember, the 5th of November the gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why Gunpowder Treason Should ever be forgot.” Animal rights are a logical development from the advent of civil liberties in Democratic South Africa. One subject bound to spark vigorous debate is the use of fireworks on 5 November to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day. It is not so much the glitz of a thousand multi-coloured bursting stars lighting up the night sky, but rather the piercing noise which creates distress for many sentient creatures.  The South African constitution recognises the right to be free of unwarranted…

Name: Sansevieria hyacinthoides (L.) Druce     Family: Ruscaceae Common names: Engl. Bowstring-hemp, Mother-in-law’s-tongue, Snake-plant;  Afr. Aambeiwortel, Skoonma-se-tong;  Xho. Isikholokotho  Common garden and container plant.  Description Succulent stemless perennial up to 600mm in large colonies. Rhizome sturdy, fibrous and bright orange. Leaves are erect, rigid, loosely clustered, often with a slightest twist, flat, dark green in colour with paler markings and margins red. Flowers are in dense inflorescence, ± 450 mm; flowers ± 30 mm, greenish white to pale mauve, ± 6 in clusters, open at night (September-May). Fruit are orange berries. Conservation status According to the SANBI (South African National Biodiversity Institute) Red…

To be honest, I have no idea what to write about this week. I’m sitting at my brother’s computer in icy South Shields in the northeast corner of England toward the end of a thoroughly hectic, but hugely enjoyable, visit to the UK. Almost two weeks ago I landed at Heathrow Airport, weary after the long journey from SA, since when I have been surrounded by the generosity and love of my family and friends. First I stayed with Chrissie’s son Charlie, daughter-in-law Anne and our little granddaughter Lyra in Windsor for a few days where I was welcomed with…

Every now and then I hear someone say “If God was a God of love, He wouldn’t have allowed this” or “He wouldn’t have done this.” The problem with this kind of thinking is that we end up reducing God to nothing more than a puppet who acts the way we want Him to. In Isaiah 40:18, we find the question being asked; “Who will you compare God with? What likeness will you compare Him to?” The obvious answer would be that there is no one and nothing we can compare God to. Some might argue that that’s not fair.…

The complex post-apartheid epoch requires innovative thinking and well-thought-out approaches to South Africa’s problems. Irrespective of our backgrounds, the focus should be on the way forward and having seasoned leadership in all respects. The pre-1994 mentality is doing more harm more than nation-building and a transformed mindset would enable us to rise to individual and collective challenges. Strategies and tactics applied in the past are irrelevant now. Irrespective of their mandates, organisations  have to rigorously re-engineer themselves to become more responsive to 21st Century demands. We need to move on changing the appalling conditions under which a large proportion of…

Baboon High Noon: a fearsome battle in Somerset East Late one October afternoon in 1905, reported Grocott’s via the Uitenhage Chronicle, Nicholas Hurter, a farmer, noticed a troop of chacma baboons settling down on a cliff above his homestead in the Vogelrivier region, southwest of Somerset East. Hurter’s farmyard dogs, aggravated by the troop’s noise, escaped from their pen and scrambled up the hillside. Dogs generally won’t win against baboons, so Hurter took his gun and headed after them. By the time he made it up the hillside, the dogs had caught the worst of it: several were dead and…