Author: Staff Reporter

He might make mistakes, maar hy bly altyd great… and remember my friend, not all heroes wear capes…” is just one of the catchy lyrics taken from JACK PAROW’s brand new hit, Super Van, which was created to be the theme song for the hilarious new movie, Van Der Merwe, a movie based on a lovable half-wit set to open at cinemas nationwide in July. Multi award-winning rapper and songwriter, JACK PAROW (aka Xander Tyler), shot to fame in 2009 after releasing his debut hit single, Cooler as Ekke, which took the South African music industry by storm. Over the years, he has become almost…

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STAFF REPORTER Boasting its strongest programme yet, Wordfest South Africa will run from 1-7 July during the National Arts Festival, allowing audiences to interact with authors. Helen Zille and Justice Dikgang Moseneke will launch their autobiographies, along with a biography on the life and tenure of Thuli Madonsela. The programme boasts several books that have won literary awards or are currently short listed for national literary awards, such as Darwin’s Hunch, Hunger Eats a Man and My Own Liberator.  Wordfest will also host a discussion on The Book of Joy, currently 9th on The New York Times best seller list.…

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Families are in for a treat this Festival with two new Family Fare venues bursting with fun. The new NELM building in Worcester Street boasts a profusion of activities for the young at heart including two (free) daily stories read by actors and others in their beautiful story amphitheatre at 10.30am and 3.30pm every day. NELM also plays host to talks on various parenting issues with local experts Nicky Turner, Zintle Phekana and Cathy Gush advising on children’s rights, nutrition issues and literacy development respectively (Festival programme page 140). There are also workshops for young people. Jeannie McKeown offers…

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Opel yesterday cemented its commitment to South Africa, revealing plans to further strengthen the brand and grow its market presence in the country with a new distributor and new exciting entries to its portfolio. The Williams Hunt group has been appointed as the dedicated distributor to distribute and sell the Opel brand in South Africa, effective January 2018. Williams Hunt has been a major and outstanding Opel partner in South Africa for many years, contributing to some 20%  of the sales. With this setup, Opel plans to further grow in South Africa and strengthen brand and service to its customers.…

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Cabinet has approved the Road Freight Strategy, which is aimed at putting South Africa on par with the best international standards in freight operations. “The recommendations in this strategy will enhance the efficiency of enforcement, promote road safety, improve the protection of infrastructure, reduce environmental impacts, and create an integrated framework of quality-regulated competition, within which the road freight sector can continue to serve the needs of the South African economy,” Cabinet said in a statement.  – SAnews.gov.za

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The Department of Transport will increase the number of law enforcement officers on public roads in the current financial year, says Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi. “The Department will advocate that law enforcement be declared an essential service, to ensure availability of traffic officers on a 24/7 schedule on the country’s roads,” Minister Maswanganyi said. Tabling the Department of Transport’s Budget Vote in Cape Town, he said over the medium term, his department will focus on maintaining the provincial as well as national road networks. Furthermore, the department will upgrade and maintain the rail infrastructure and improve the public transport for…

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Sometimes the smallest feet must walk the longest journey… How does a shy and timid princess rescue a beautiful, frightened Songbird from the beastly jailer? How does she help the Songbird save the land from a terrible drought? Can the songbird free up its beautiful voice and bring on the rain? Ubom! Eastern Cape Drama Company, now in its 14th year of contributing to the artistic buzz in the Eastern Cape, presents Zina and the Songbird, directed by Brink Scholtz, at this year’s National Arts Festival. The captivating story of Zina and the Songbird is shared by talented Grahamstown actors through…

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Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) has invested more than R125-million to upgrade the 3 000-metre vehicle conveyor system at its Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria in order to increase its production capacity of the locally-built Ford Ranger and Everest. The investment is part of Ford’s manufacturing expansion plans to increase the plant’s capacity by 22% from 27 jobs-per-hour to 33 jobs-per-hour by January 2018, following the move to a two-vehicle facility last year when the Ford Everest joined the Ford Ranger on the Pretoria assembly line. The new conveyor system, which began operating earlier this year, optimises the…

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A market-leading tally of 9,601 unit sales by Toyota South Africa afforded the company a market share of 23% for May, the highest in five months. This sales total places Toyota 3,215 units ahead of its closest peer, with 90% of sales transactions recorded on dealership floors. Once again, SUVs reigned supreme for Toyota with 2,150 SUV sales logged for the month. The Fortuner and RAV4 models accounted for the bulk of Toyota SUV sales which consequently ranked as the best-sellers in the large- and medium-SUV segments, with 1,249 and 520 units retailed, respectively. Another noteworthy statistic gleaned from the…

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Internationally renowned SUV brand Haval Motors South Africa made its formal arrival on local shores during a glittering event at newly renovated Kyalami International Race Track on 31 May. Known for being the premium and superior SUV brand of China, Haval Motors South Africa introduced its entry level Haval H2 for sale with an eye on succeeding in the industry’s most competitive segments, the compact SUV range. Garnering tonnes of experience, Haval Motors spent years analysing the South African market to better understand consumer needs and expectations so Haval Motors South Africa may meet and surpass the expectations of the…

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