By Fahdia Msaka A Makhanda mother has been left asking whether not having medical aid might turn out to be a death sentence for her son. Silubonile Zinquntu is only two years old and has lived with Biliary atresia from the age of two months. Biliary atresia is a condition in infants in which the bile ducts outside and inside the liver are scarred and blocked, causing bile to build up in the liver instead of flowing into the intestine. This damages the liver, causing scarring, loss of liver tissue and function, and cirrhosis. Silubonile’s mother, Wendy Ziquntu, describes the…
Author: Fahdia Msaka
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By Fahdia Msaka South Africa has a long history of fighting for equality in education. The racial segregation that lasted from 1948 to 1994 also enforced segregation in schools. This policy resulted in the stark difference in educational opportunities we still see today. The end of Apartheid in 1994 marked a new beginning for South Africa, especially in the education sector. The ruling party that Nelson Mandela led had a strong belief that education was one of the biggest keys to change. Nearly two decades post-Apartheid, we have come to learn that inequality in education is not limited to racial…
By Fahdia Msaka and Tsholofelo Ledwaba The 132-year-old Victoria Girls’ High School (VGHS) in Makhanda, named originally after the colonial Queen Victoria of England, has co-dedicated its name to anti-apartheid activist, nurse, midwife, and attorney Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge. Mxenge is one of the anti-apartheid movement’s best-loved and most well-known female icons, and was assassinated in 1985 by one of the apartheid government’s death squads, just four years after her attorney and anti-apartheid activist husband, Griffiths Mxenge, was murdered by Vlakplaas agents led by apartheid assassin, Dirk Coetzee. At a co-dedication ceremony on 25 August, Mxenge’s son, Mbasa Mxenge expressed his…
By Fahdia Msaka It was an exciting weekend for Rhodes University, who won this year’s Eastern Cape Intervarsity champions for the first time in the history of the competition, taking the trophy from current champs, Nelson Mandela University (NMU), in the final game. “You have made us proud; you have made history. For the first time in the history of Intervarsity, you have won,” said Rhodes University Vice Chancellor Prof. Sizwe Mabizela during the Trophy campus parade ceremony on 17 August 2023. The intervarsity games were held at Rhodes University from 11 – 12 August 2023. The 2-day sporting and…
By Fahdia Msaka The South African Police Service (SAPS) has confirmed that a manhunt is underway to apprehend a group of suspects responsible for a heinous triple murder in Makhanda on 3 August. One of the three people who were shot dead was an employee of the Department of Correctional Services. According to SAPS spokesperson Majola Nkohli, a group of six people were sitting outside with the homeowner in a home in Joza’s Extension Six when shots were fired at them. All six ran in different directions, trying to flee while gunshots quickly blasted through, disturbing the scene. Three of…
By Fahdia Msaka Strong winds over the weekend of 29 and 30 April disrupted daily life, caused significant damage to properties, and posed serious safety problems for residents in Hlalani, Newtown Extension and Extension Six. Grocott’s Mail visited Nobuntu Nombombo at her home in Newtown Extension. Her harrowing experience began in the early hours of 30 April. Nombombo recalls, “We heard the roof flying off at 3 am on Sunday”. The force of the strong winds tore away the roof, leaving their home completely exposed. For the safety of her children and grandchildren, she evacuated to her daughter’s flat, located in…
By Fahdia Msaka The state of neglect of Alicedale, a small town in the Sarah Baartman District Municipality in the Eastern Cape, overwhelmed Grocott’s Mail journalists, leaving them feeling shaken after visiting the town for the first time. As in much of South Africa, Alicedale, just one hour’s drive from Makhanda, is divided along former Apartheid lines into a town centre, a formerly so-called Coloured area (Transriviere), and a township (KwaNonzwakazi), where mostly Black South Africans still live. In both Transriviere and KwaNonzwakazi, the play areas are neglected and filled with pollution despite these being spaces where children, the most…
By Fahdia Msaka Makhanda’s only specialist tuberculosis (TB) hospital has been abruptly shut down by the Provincial Department of Health, allegedly without any consultation with the community of Makhanda. When Grocott’s Mail visited the Temba Santa TB hospital on 12 July, the buildings were deserted. Security guards told the newspaper it was their last day, and that all the patients had been moved to Settlers’ Hospital. The Temba Santa TB hospital stood empty on 12 July 2023. Photo: Fahdia Msaka A 21 June letter from the Provincial Health Department to staff members of the hospital said that the department “realised…
By Fahdia Msaka Members of the Makana small and medium enterprises (SME) community, representatives of banks, Sarah Baartman District Municipality, and Rhodes University gathered at the Jazz Corner in Joza on 20 June to discuss how to enable township entrepreneurs to access opportunities in the digital economy. The ‘Kasi Talks Business’ event was sponsored by Absa, with successful entrepreneurs Siyabulelo Mandla, Rhino Group managing director, and Khaya Tantsi, director of Khula Tech Solutions, sharing their experiences of starting an SME in the township. Mandla said when he was studying, his research proposal on the Township Economy was rejected by his…
By Fahdia Msaka On 20 May, the Rhodes University Sports Media team interviewed the University’s sports teams as they shared their excitement for USSA 2023. USSA stands for University Sport South Africa and is recognized by the National University Sports Associations (NUSAs). The NUSAs are responsible for planning, organizing, administering, and promoting their respective sports. The primary function is to organize annual sports tournaments in which national student teams are chosen to represent USSA and South Africa at various national and international tournaments. Rhodes University Head of Sports, Frans Mamabolo. Photo: Ovayo Novukela Frans Mpho Mamabolo, the Manager of Rhodes…