By VISHAL NAIDOO As we have reached this season of the bright foliage colour evolving around Grahamstown, homeowners are reaping the fruits of their labour after a harsh winter. The satisfying visuals of one garden in particular stood out on one hot spring afternoon, because right at the end of Prince Alfred Street stands a garden which glistens from the golden sun setting over the hills. The collage of green from the hedges to the lighter contrasting greens of the lawn and trees are complimented with subtle bursts of colour from blossoming flowers scattered around the garden. The realistic sense…
Author: Staff Reporter
With heavy rainfall causing chaos on the roads, the South African Police Service has urged motorists to be cautious. Heavy rains and strong winds have gripped most parts of the country, causing damage in various provinces. Below are some safety tips to help you stay safe: Be especially careful when the rain first starts. When the roads are dry for a long period of time, engine oil and grease builds up on roads and highways. As soon as the first drops of rain start to fall, the water mixes with this build-up, making the roads incredibly slick. Slow down. You…
As the days get warmer, the urge to twist the throttle gets stronger. Before you get back in the saddle, take time to check that your motorcycle and its battery are in perfect condition, with the Battery Centre’s top tips to get powered up and prepped for every twist and turn. Select the right battery It may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s easy to pick up the wrong battery. There are variety of motorcycle batteries available and most modern ones are maintenance-free. This means they don’t lose water during charging like older models–making them more effective and less messy.…
Concertmaster of Orchestra Wellington, Amalia Hall, will perform with versatile concert pianist Jose Dias in the Grahamstown Music Society’s final concert for the year on Tuesday 24 October. One of New Zealand’s foremost violinists, Hall’s career began at the age of 8 when she started playing chamber music with her siblings in the Hall String Quartet. She has gone on to play chamber music with eminent musicians around the world. Her competition successes include the Royal Overseas League Overseas Award and both First Prize and the overall prize at the Tunbridge Wells International Music Competition, and the top prize at the…
Dams in the Eastern Cape remain low in spite of the heavy rain that fell in the past few days. Although some dams have shown a slight improvement, overall the dam levels are still low and people must continue to use water sparingly. On average the Eastern Cape dam levels are at 55.4%, a slight increase of 0.4% from last week, the Department of Water and Sanitation said in a media release today. The level at Howieson’s Poort Dam west of Grahamstown is today reported at 18.2% – a .2 percent increase over last week. While Settlers continues to be…
The Electoral Commission (IEC) last week launched an online address capture campaign which will allow South Africa’s 26 million registered voters to check, confirm and update their address details via the Electoral Commission’s website. The facility is available at www.elections.org.za/MyIEC. According to a press statement from the IEC Centurion headquarters on Wednesday, registered voters with internet access can click, check and confirm their addresses on the online ‘My IEC’ platform. Users will also be able to help friends and firmly to do the same. “For registered voters who do not have access to the internet, it is proposed to open voting…
A Bill that is expected to introduce a demerit system that will see serial traffic offenders losing their driver’s licences has been given the thumbs-up by the National Assembly. The Bill was introduced to Parliament to amend the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act of 1998. After a vote, 225 MPs voted in favour of the Bill being sent to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence. Eighty-eight MPs rejected it, while no MPs abstained. Leading a debate on the Bill prior to the vote, Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi said the Bill was being introduced to improve driver behaviour…
This September, while South Africans reconnected with their past by visiting heritage institutions, they also actively participated in Tourism Month, under the banner “I do Tourism Sustainably”, which is aligned to the United Nations tourism theme: “Sustainable Tourism for Development.” Sustainable tourism establishes an equilibrium between the environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism. Its intention is to minimize impact on the environment and local culture so that it will be available for future generations, yet at the same time, contributing to income generation, employment, and reducing poverty. Sustainable tourism furthermore ensures that development creates a positive experience for local…
Telecommunications and Postal Services Minister Siyabonga Cwele says South Africans will pay less for data as early as August next year. Reducing the cost of data and roaming charges has been under the spotlight over the past three days as Ministers of Communication and ICT from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) gathered in Durban to discuss ITC infrastructure development in the region. In an interview with SAnews, Minister Cwele said his department has mandated the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) to conduct a thorough study on the cost of data in the country and make recommendations. The majority…
Every year, Nelson Mandela Day (18 July) leaves a lingering smile on the faces of people who ‘paid it forward’ and donated 67 minutes of their time to spreading kindness; particularly among the poorest of the poor in our country. Passionate about education, our late president had this to say: “Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mine worker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation.…