Author: Staff Reporter

Makhanda’s own boxing champion will be in action this Saturday 30 November. Mziwoxolo ‘Black Tiger’ Ndwayana will face Ryan Martin in his own backyard in England in the elimination bout for the Commonwealth welterweight title. The winner of this fight will get a shot at the title, currently held by another Britain-based champion, Chris Jenkins. Ndwayana’s last fight was in March this year when he knocked out East London based Odwa Gaxa in the seventh round in Uitenhage to defend his SA welterweight title. Speaking to Grocott’s Mail, Black Tiger admitted that he doesn’t know much about his opponent. He’s…

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Last week the Department of Employment and Labour led by Director General, Mr Thobile Lamati, visited Makana Municipality. The purpose of the visit was to conduct a two-day exit strategy workshop for the 1650 learnership beneficiaries. Below are the learnership programmes under way in Makana: As can be seen from the above table, three learnership programmes have already started. The two-day workshop took place from 20 to 21 November 2019. The following themes were explored in depth. What do I want to do with what I have learnt?; Job creation opportunities in Makhanda; Waste management initiatives; Technology innovation and…

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A 19-year-old man was arrested following the sexual assault of a teenager on West Beach in Port Alfred this week, South African Police Service spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said. The girl, in her late teens, was jogging on the beach at around 1.40pm on Monday 25 November when she was approached by a man armed with a knife, Govender said. “The male sexually assaulted her at knifepoint and thereafter robbed her of her cellphone and fled. “SAPS K9 members and local security officers who were in the vicinity arrested the fleeing 19 year old suspect,” Govender said. “The stolen cell…

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In mid-September and on 28 October, local dance students took part in their International Social Ballroom Dance grading, held at Kingswood College, Grahamstown. The grading was arranged by owner of local dance school, Dance With…, Francois van Eck. Thirty students from across the schools as well as twelve adult members were examined by Peter Mann from Port Elizabeth. Mann is a member and Treasurer of the South African Dance Teachers Association (SADTA) and has been teaching social and competitive dancing for more than thirty years. Students were examined at various levels, from Beginner to Level 3. Each student performed between…

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By LOUISE VAN DER MERWE Port Elizabeth local personalities performed at the fifth instalment of dance-for-charity “Sway in the Bay” on Saturday 16 November, presented by Galaxy Bingo (and other sponsors) at the Feather Market Centre. These local personalities were paired up with professional dancers to show off their Ballroom and Latin American skills in a dance-off for R10 000 for charity. Local dance teacher, Francois van Eck, owner of Dance With… was selected by Miranda Botha, the organiser and coach, to dance with Miss Luister FM 2019, Bridget Hart. The eight personalities and their partners had to perform two dances each.…

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Multi-award winning South African artist Guy Buttery teams up with Indian born sitar player and singer, Kanada Narahari chartering newfound musical territory with a collaborative release titled Nāḍī. The full length album, available on Vinyl, CD, in an exclusive Deluxe Edition and across all streaming platforms, is an exploration of the musical languages between South Africa and India and the previously untold stories surrounding this connection. Nāḍī will be released worldwide on the 8th November 2019. When South African musician Guy Buttery first sought out Dr. Kanada Narahari in late 2016, it was as his patient. “It was a dark time.” Buttery recalls, “I had been bedridden for months…

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Dear Residents The Municipality is responsible for providing a safety and secure environment to all community members and ensuring compliance with the following relevant legislative frameworks: Municipal by-laws on control of stray animals; National norms and standards; National Animal Pounds Bill of 2017 Section 6 and 8 of the Stock Theft Act 57 of 1959 Animal Disease Act 35 of 1984. Stray animals roaming the streets continue to pose a threat to motorists and cause a health hazard. Controlling the stray animals has been a challenge for this municipality for a long time. On 18 September 2019, Makana Municipality conducted…

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The Buyel’Ekhaya Artist Development Workshop is to be held on the 25th to the 26th of November 2019 at the Miriam Makeba Eastern Cape Audio Visual Centre (ECAVC) in East London. Participants are to apply to take part on www.buyelekhaya.co.za . Award winning artists Nathi and Nduduzo Makhathini will be two of the music industry experts presenting to up and coming musicians of the region. The content of the two-day workshop will include talks and presentations from industry practitioners including: Nkosinathi Mankayi (NATHI): Award Winning Solo Artist Topic: The Music Business – A Personal Case Study Ndudzo Makhathini: Award Winning Artist. Head of Music…

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Lieutenant-Colonel Butch Strydom and 16 staff from Joza Police Station were named Admin Team of the Year in the South African Police Service’s recent provincial awards. This team and their motto, ‘Together everone achieves more’ is a living reality. Their positive attitude and willingness to extend a helping hand is unparalleled. Despite each having their own responsibilities, they do not hesitate to assist each other when urgent deadlines have to be met. The station has on numerous occasions been complimented on its neatness and cleanliness. This can be attributed to an initiative by the support service staff to assist the…

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By Aseeqah Davids As part of their internship, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) interns, placed at various research institutes around the country, are mandated to run an environmental outreach initiative in their community. Interns based at NRF-SAIAB in Makhanda/ Grahamstown and at Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism in East London recognised that plastic pollution is a very big problem, and that this problem is particularly exaggerated in Makhanda/ Grahamstown East. On Saturday 12th October 2019, the WWF interns ran a plastics clean up initiative, on the stretch of land behind Nombulelo Secondary School. Learners from both Nombulelo and Ntsika Secondary Schools…

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