By LOYISO DYONGMAN Families in some parts of Makhanda are resorting to buying water from people with donkey carts, “renting” capacity in other people’s rainwater tanks – and doing without when they can’t afford to pay. Some Makana communities have suffered water cuts and lack of water for more than a year. Now others are facing the same problem. In Hoogenoeg, a water tank donated to the community by Gift of the Givers has been empty for seven weeks. Resident Melikhaya Matwa said residents were now buying water from donkey cart owners who can fetch water from far away at between R20…
Author: Rod Amner
By STAFF REPORTER Twelve people died in two separate car accidents on the N2 outside Makhanda on Thursday and Friday. In the first accident on Thursday, four people, including a three-year-old boy, died when a Polo Vivo and a Toyota LDV collided head-on. Department of Transport spokesperson Unathi Binqose said that the Polo was travelling from Makhanda, and all three occupants, the little boy and two women died at the scene. “The Toyota LDV was travelling from the Peddie direction and had six occupants, all males allegedly from a local farm. All three in the Polo died, and a passenger…
The Friends of the Library Lecture series for 2022 continues on Monday, 30 May 2022, with a talk by Prof Catriona Macleod entitled, “They all preached abstinence”: how school-based sexuality education fails South African youth. The stakes of sexuality education in South Africa are high. Research shows that young people mostly feel disconnected from the messages of formal sexuality education. ‘Danger, disease and damage’ are emphasised in classes, and rigid gendered norms and heteronormativity are promoted. Life Orientation educators experience many challenges in teaching sexuality education. So, what is to be done? WHEN: Monday 30 May WHERE: Amazwi South African Museum of Literature 25A Worcester St, Grahamstown,…
The loss of three power-generating units on Saturday, 21 May, forced Eskom to increase load-shedding to Stage 4 from 1 pm to 10 pm tonight and from 8 am – 10 pm on Sunday, 22 May. The loss of two Hendrina and one Lethabo Power Station units since Saturday morning, together with demand currently 1 200MW higher than anticipated, have forced the power utility to intensify load-shedding, Eskom said in a media statement. A Matimba Power Station generating unit was returned to service last night. “At the current burn rate, diesel supplies would be depleted ahead of new stock arriving…
By CHESLEY DANIELS Last weekend, Old Collegians (OC) travelled to Port Alfred to take on host Ndlambe Tigers and came home with a narrow 14-10 win. The fixture was part of the EPRU Sedru Regional League. With the win, the Makhanda side moved up to the second position on the overall log and fought very hard for their win. The game was played in a good spirit, and the physicality was the order of the day. The home side’s big and powerful forwards didn’t make it easy for OC and came hard at them the whole day. Tigers’ forwards were…
By CHESLEY DANIELS Klipfontein United 1st XV are the new EPRU Sedru Regional League log leaders after securing a 26-5 bonus-point win over St Mark’s Alicedale on Saturday in Klipfontein. St Mark’s dominance in the first half saw them take a narrow 5-0 lead at halftime. For the first time since the start of the competition, St Mark’s lost their spot at the top of the log to Klipfontein, who are now the new log leaders. St Mark’s now move to third position with OC second. St Mark’s travelled to Klipfontein – a hard nut to crack in their backyard.…
By ESTHER RAMANI, Joza Youth Hub Open Day coordinator The dreams of youth are long, long dreams. But, some young people must navigate so many obstacles even to get a glimmer of their dreams. That is why the Joza Youth Hub came into being: to provide an enhanced academic and extracurricular life to children in Joza and its surrounds. We offer after-school programmes from an inadequate building attached to the Makana Municipality’s Housing Department. We battle with all the issues confronting a volunteer, non-profit organisation: lack of a conducive space, dearth of resources, precarious funding, and very few human beings…
By CHESLEY DANIELS Both Alex and PJ came out guns blazing, entertaining the sizeable local crowd at the Wentzel Park Sports Ground. The game was physical and played at a high tempo from the outset. PJ’s scrumming was outstanding throughout the game, and they dominated affairs upfront. Their scrum put them on the front foot and gave them much-needed momentum that saw Sinethemba Bruintjies scoring a try. Captain Yayen Sias converted to provide PJ with a 7-0 lead. Alex replied with two tries in the form of Eljean Cannon to take his side to a 10-5 lead at the break.…
By LOYISO DYONGMAN Makana Municipality has expressed its gratitude to local businesses who have taken it upon themselves to repair potholes in Makhanda. In an official statement, Executive Mayor Yandiswa Vara thanked the local Pick n Pay, Makana Caltex garage and others for offering to work with the municipality to repair potholes in various streets. Pick n Pay business partner Jon Campbell approached the municipality last month to discuss the possibility of a partnership to repair potholes around Makhanda. Meetings between Makana Municipality, Pick n Pay and Caltex lead to the start of the work on 10 May. “Makana LM…
By ROD AMNER Just 46 of the 6000 solar-powered geysers donated to Makana in 2019 by the Department of Energy and the Central Energy Fund are in a state to be installed. The remaining 5954 geysers worth at least R33.9-million were mysteriously stolen from the Indoor Sports Centre or rendered inoperable because essential copper and brass parts were stolen from their ‘packs’. The shocking news was disclosed in a Makana Infrastructure Development Portfolio Committee meeting on Wednesday, 18 May. Ward 4 Councillor Geoff Embling said there had been no sign of a break-in at the Indoor Sports. How the removal…