Author: Grocott's Mail Contributors

There is no need to re-apply nor re-appeal President Cyril Ramaphosa extended the Special 350 COVID-19 Grant by a further three months on 11 February. The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) as processed in excess of 9.6 million applications each month from May 2020 to January 2021 and has paid more than 6.5 million grants per month. The total amount spent on this grant to date has exceeded R16 billion. The following should be noted about the SRD grant: There is no need to go to a SASSA office; all SRD processes are done online. Any amendments on your…

By INGA ZENZILE Most of us would easily answer ‘yes’ to this question, but do you know what this means for you as an ordinary South African citizen? In this article we will explore the legislation that gives you rights as a consumer, the purpose of this legislation, its main objectives, and lastly how it is applied, as this legislation can play an important role in our daily lives. This article is the first in a series of articles on the topic that will be published monthly during 2021. The legislation that we speak of is the Consumer Protection Act…

Kay Mosiane pays tribute to Sibongile Khumalo My relationship with Dr Sibongile Khumalo is one I’ve mostly imagined in my head the soundtrack of the happiest memories of my childhood and early life is mostly her voice. And then I started getting older and decided to maybe take this singing thing a little further. Training classically but knowing I wanted to sing something else. So naturally, my obsession with her went further than just listening to her music because it was so bloody good. But now I was analysing every breath, every vowel, every note. I would imagine her in my…

Sophumelela Youth Development Programme traditionally hands over sanitary towels, soap and deodorant to three Makhanda high schools as part of an annual Valentine’s Day celebration. Dubbed Love Day, the idea is to encourage empathy for girls among the male learners, and educate them about what it’s like for girls when they have their periods. Love Day will be a little later this year because schools open on 15 February – the day after Valentine’s Day. The new date is 26 February 2021 and we would appreciate donations of sanitary towels, soap and deodorant  to make this event possible. If you’d like to donate…

The Wild Hikers Crew ‘talked the walk’ on World Read Aloud Day 2021, writes Cathy Gush Around the country, a few million children were read aloud to on Wednesday 3 February, in celebration of International World Read Aloud Day. Nal’ibali – the main drivers of this campaign in South Africa – were aiming for 3 million children this year. The Lebone Centre reached out to 10 early childhood development (ECD) centres in Makhanda, as well as the Ikhaya Losizo safe house, reaching about 160 young children with the story Fly, everyone fly, written specially for the occasion by Sihle Nontshokweni.…

Monthly rainfall roundup for Makhanda Roger Rowswell – Darling Street Last year, a comparison of rainfall was made between 2020 and 2019, the severe drought year. Having studied the resulting data closely it was evident that if the data had been compared with that of 1921 it could be seen that the two sets were very similar. This led me to hypothesise that 2021 could be a flood year and that the interval period is not 100 years but 99 years between flood events. Time will tell. Previous recorded flood events were in October 1823 and November 1922, an interval…

The Children’s Institute (CI) and Legal Resources Centre (LRC) have secured a temporary victory in the fight to protect children without birth certificates from repeatably losing their child support grants (CSGs). On Monday, 25 January 2021, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) agreed to reinstate the CSGs for thousands of these children. This follows SASSA’s termination of CSGs at the end of December 2020, plunging children and their families into destitution in the middle of the second wave of the Covid pandemic. According to SASSA, there were about 16 000 children without birth certificates receiving the CSG in October…

Rhodes University joins the millions of South Africans in paying homage to world-renowned opera singer and jazz music legend, Dr Sibongile Khumalo. The much-loved songbird passed away this week following a long illness.  MaNgoma, as she was affectionately known, started her career when she was 18 and she came into the limelight when she won the Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year in 1993 at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda. Standing ovations, and torrents of applause followed her performance. She was acclaimed with near unanimity by reviewers as the “volcanic talent” of the Festival. At the end of…

By STEVEN LANG Chair of the Electoral Commission (IEC), Glen Mashinini, has announced that his organisation will be ready to implement the Political Party Funding Act from 1 April 2021. At a media conference on Friday, he assured journalists that this is no April Fool’s joke. The date was chosen because it coincides with the start of a new financial year for the public sector and political parties. The purpose of the Act is to improve transparency around political party funding ahead of local government elections due to be held between August and November this year. Greater transparency is deemed…

By JULIAN JACOBS The Makana Joint Operating Centre’s communication team spoke to the Education Department in Makhanda about the readiness of schools to receive learners back to classrooms for 2021 during lockdown level 3 in a Covid-19 hotspot municipal district For all parents, and for parents who are sending their little ones to school for the first time, this is indeed a very emotional period as the long-awaited return for all learners to schools are almost over. The opening day for all public schools across South Africa is scheduled for Monday, 15 February 2021. Private and Independent schools are earmarked…