Another disappointing week for rainfall in Makhanda. Paul Maylam recorded 5.7mm from 14-20 October in Cathcart Street, while Jim Cambray’s received 3.5mm in Park Road for the same period. Temperatures ranged from 6.5C to 29C. Robin Stobbs came in third with 2.6mm. He reports that he is losing all faith (what little he had) “in rain whisperers, forecasters, prophets and soothsayers”. Jim suggested that the true secret to your rainfall “lies in the hands of the little Garden Gnome at the end of your garden. Unless he is one of those Globe Trotting Gnomes then somewhere else is getting your rain. The…
Author: Rod Amner
By CHRIS TOTOBELA Makhanda came to a standstill this past Saturday as Mfuzo Boxing Camp celebrated its 26th anniversary. Boxing clubs from all over the province, and Swaziland, kept the crowd on the edges of their seats at the packed Hlalani Community hall. Mfuzo Boxing camp was established in October 1995 by Luyanda “Tyson” Dibela, Given “Wonderboy” Faxi, Simphiwe ” Happy boy ” Matiso, Mfuzo “Majeke” Dyirha and the Mvuyisi “Hands of stone” Tyukana. This journey has not been plain sailing as they encountered some serious challenges along the way. They struggled to find a venue to train their boxers…
By CHESLEY DANIELS Salem, Cuylerville and Southwell remain unbeaten in the Grahamstown Cricket Board (GCB) 1st League after the second round of the competition. Again, we have witnessed some exciting and competitive all-round cricket from both the 1st and 2nd leagues. There were also some sterling individual batting and bowling performances, which again highlighted the players’ competitiveness. There were five centuries and seven five wicket-hauls recorded over the past weekend. Centuries were: James Mullins (Salem, 145), Carriston Haarhof (Willows, 127), Charlie Muir (Cuylerville, 105), Lorrimer Pittaway (Salem 2nd 155*) and James McClahlan (Sidbury 2nd, 107). 5 Wicket-hauls: Dean Van Heerden…
By ROD AMNER A 19 October Facebook post by the ANC Makana sub-region accused “the white community led by the local white businesses” of using food parcels and soup kitchens to “infiltrate our black communities”. The post can be found on this page: https://www.facebook.com/Makana-ANC-Subregion-189190234790057 “The white community, led by the local white businesses, convened came up and implemented a strategy of infiltrating our black communities by bringing FOOD, creating so-called NGO’s using such as a front of the legal fraternity to fight against a democratically elected government and they FAILED dismally,” the post said. “A democratically elected government could not…
By KARABO DIKOBE Rhodes University Community Engagement (RUCE) hosted the 5th annual Community Engagement Symposium under the theme ‘The role of Community Engagement in the reimagination of Higher Education during and post the Covid 19 pandemic’ over three days this week. In his welcome, Rhodes University Vice-Chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela began by quoting the former Vice-Chancellor of Newcastle University, Chris Brink, who asked, “What are we [Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)] good for?.” Mabizela said HEIs must figure out what they are good for to improve their contributions to society. “These institutions exist and were created for the public good. It…
By STAFF REPORTER At its second virtual graduation ceremony for Masters and PhD students on 29 October, Rhodes University will confer a degree of Doctor of Letters (D Litt) (honoris causa) on retired SABC isiXhosa news anchor Noxolo Grootboom. Grootboom is recognised nationally for her significant promotion of national pride and culture through her journalistic career, which spanned 37 years. Grootboom’s legendary status is derived from her contributions in the broadcasting industry and to South Africa as a whole through performing her career responsibilities in ways that inspired many citizens, even during the most challenging times. Her uncanny ability to…
By RYAN JARVIS All Rhodes University staff, students, and visitors will require digital vaccination certificates or vaccination cards upon entering the campus as full face-to-face teaching resumes in 2022. The Rhodes Council has endorsed a vaccination mandate rule to enable the resumption of face-to-face university teaching, learning and research, said Rhodes senior communications officer Velisile Bukula in an official statement. A valid and acceptable form of evidence of COVID-19 vaccination with a vaccine that is approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) will be a condition for access to the campus in 2022. Bukula said the decision…
Proverbs 4:23 teaches us, “Above all else guard your hearts for everything we do flows from it”. In the Hebrew language, the heart involves the feelings/affections and the will and the thoughts/mind. Someone once called the heart the ‘control centre’ of our being. If the physical heart, which pumps oxygen and nutrient blood to the rest of the body, does not function well, it will negatively affect the rest of the body. The same with the heart spiritually; if it is not in good condition, it will affect everything we do. Scripture teaches us to keep a strict eye on…
By PHILIP MACHANICK, vice-chair of the Makana Citizens Front and Ward 4 councillor candidate A post on the ANC Makana sub-region Facebook page has made some highly divisive claims amounting to accusing the white business community of trying to buy off the black community with food aid. I congratulate the ANC on deleting this, and I hope this means they repudiate it too. But it is obviously a thought that is doing the rounds, and we need to confront it. When the Covid lockdown first started, many people realised that hunger would be a huge problem and sprang into action to…
A Big Pineapple has been spotted in Woombye, Queensland, raising speculation and concern that the cash-strapped Ndlambe Municipality may have sold off one of Bathurst’s prime tourism assets to raise funds for its stuttering desalination plant in the water-stressed district. However, Grocott’s Mail can confirm that Bathurst’s Big Pineapple has not been nicked by the Aussies. The Woombye pineapple, which has two levels and stands 16 metres high, was originally opened on 15 August 1971. The Bathurst Big Pineapple, constructed by members of the village’s agricultural community in the 1980s, remains the world’s biggest, standing 16.5 m high with three stories…