By MZWANDILE MAMAILA Phumla Mngcongo exemplifies Makhanda’s sense of humanity. She is the founder of a kitchen, but has a lot more planned for her community. Mngcongo has been unemployed for the past four years, yet she still manages to keep her children, her relatives, and the community of Makhanda fed. With the financial assistance from two ‘good samaritans’, Mngcongo ran the kitchen for a year. After stepping down from 20 years working at a Rhodes University cafeteria, Mngcongo felt the need to tackle the needs of her community. With the experience of working with thousands of students and assisting…
Author: Rod Amner
By LOYISO DYONGMAN The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Shadow MEC for Health and Environmental Affairs Jane Cowley has described Makana’s raw sewage and illegal dumping problems as a “health and environmental disaster, which was making people ill”. She spoke to an enthusiastic group of residents near Mary Waters High School in Ward 3 after an oversight visit by DA leaders to Makana on Thursday, 14 October. Ward 3 encompasses Vergenoeg, Xolani location, Ghost Town and Sun City. DA Shadow MEC for COGTA Vicky Knoetze MPL reported that just across from where the community was meeting, in Zolani, she had observed raw…
By MAKWENA MANAKA and ROD AMNER At least 24 community kitchens popped up around Makhanda in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020 as jobs were shed and access to food deteriorated. Most of these kitchens were started by concerned citizens on a wing and a prayer, using their resources and, later, donations from a range of committed civil society organisations. Around 18-20 are still running, but donations have been harder to come by in 2021. You can read about how the local #foodheroes have selflessly contributed to food security in our city on pages 3-6 of this…
By CHRIS TOTOBELA Last Saturday, Makhanda’s football-loving folk braved the chilly weather and made their way to JD Dlepu stadium. On show was the best U15 talent this town has to offer in the Makana LFA U15 tournament. There were some exciting games, but on Sunday, the huge crowd saw some fireworks as the remaining teams fought hard to try and lay their hands on the title. The semi-final game between City Pirates and Young Eagles got the crowd on their feet as both teams dished out the best attacking football. Pirates got onto the score sheet as early as…
By CHESLEY DANIELS The Grahamstown Cricket Board (GCB) 2021/2022 season kicked off last weekend in all earnest, with some exciting performances in the opening weekend. Cricket is finally back in our stadiums and grounds after a long layoff due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. We have already witnessed and seen some incredible and match-winning centuries in the GCB 1st League by batsmen Brandon Handley (Cuylerville), Chris Van der Meulen (Salem) and Kyle Van Niekerk (Southwell). GCB 1st LEAGUE Cuylerville vs Willows (Shaw Park) On a batting-friendly pitch, the home side batted first and posted a mammoth 383/5 in their allotted 50…
South Africans are known for being poor savers. “We believe that we do not have enough money to save,” says Witness Ntshikilana, Provincial General Manager at Metropolitan. “While we do face a significant number of financial pressures as well as cultural expectations, such as ‘black tax’ – which add to our expenses, the most significant contributor to our poor savings rate is a lack of financial education. Thus, saving is not prioritised. “Perhaps due to our difficult past, many South Africans believe that it is important to be seen as leading an aspirational lifestyle. While it is important to have…
By Prof ROSEMARY DORRINGTON, Virologist at Rhodes University and member of the Provincial COVID-19 Expert Panel The Delta variant has significantly changed what we know and thought we knew about the novel coronavirus (SARS CoV-2). Remember how, last year, COVID-19 was seen as a disease that only affected older people? With the emergence of the Delta variant, this is no longer true. We now know that the virus readily infects all ages, including children under the age of 18. The Delta variant currently dominates the infections in South Africa, spreading much faster, and is a greater risk to younger people…
By LOYISO DYONGMAN The local DA, Freedom Front Plus, and MIND parties have registered their councillor candidates in multiple wards for the 1 November Local Government Elections. The Freedom Front Plus has registered just one candidate for all 14 Makana wards: Deon Els. In the DA’s case, three of their candidates have two wards each. The MIND party’s Jock McConnachie confirmed that they had registered the same candidate for Ward 13 and 14. “We are contesting ten wards with different candidates except for Wards 13 and 14, where we have one candidate (Andrew Kirk). The DA is doubling up candidates…
By VUKOSI MALULEKE In partnership with the Makhanda Circle of Unity, the local Department of Health recently set up vaccination drives at local schools to get 18-year-olds aboard the vaccination train. Close to all 50+ citizens of Makana have been fully vaccinated. But, the vaccination rates for 18-35 year-olds are much lower. Ntsika High School principal, Madeleine Schoeman, hailed the initiative but said learners had been hesitant to take the vaccine. Victoria Girls High principal Warren Schmidt said vaccination uptake at his school had also been slow. He said he was concerned that hesitancy stemmed from parental disapproval of vaccines.…
By ROBYN JOHNSON Mphumzi ‘Ramie’ Xonxa, the African National Congress (ANC) returning councillor candidate for Ward 2, sees his journey into the upcoming municipal elections as a continuation of the work he has achieved over the past five years. Xonxa is vying for reelection and the opportunity to continue to serve his community. “Serving the community is not easy. You cannot please everybody, and people have different expectations. But, it has been interesting as well as challenging.” Xonxa said he had worked hard to battle Ward 2’s share of Makana’s service delivery issues, including ongoing water shortages. Xonxa cites as…