By Gcina Ntsaluba Festival-goers can hop between venues with ease thanks to the complimentary transport service. The National Arts Festival has rolled out a comprehensive free transport service to help visitors navigate between the numerous venues scattered across the city during the annual cultural celebration. While Makhanda may appear compact to newcomers, seasoned festival-goers know that traversing from one performance to another can be challenging, especially when trying to catch multiple shows in a day. The festival organisers have addressed this concern by introducing the Hopper service, made possible through partnerships with Standard Bank and Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism.…
Author: Gcina Ntsaluba
Read More
By Gcina Ntsaluba The National Arts Festival will pay tribute to one of South Africa’s most influential playwrights this year, staging two seminal works by the late Athol Fugard in collaboration with the Mandela Bay Theatre Complex. Both productions, co-written with legendary actors John Kani and Winston Ntshona, will bring Fugard’s powerful anti-apartheid narratives to a new generation of audiences. The Island runs from 26-29 June at St Andrews College, followed by Sizwe Banzi is Dead from 2-4 July at the Centenary Hall. This marks 50 years since these groundbreaking works earned their creators a Tony Award on Broadway –…
By Gcina Ntsaluba From the bustling township of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, to the academic halls of Rhodes University in Makhanda, Nqobani Mathew Dabengwa is juggling a master’s degree in pharmacy with his passion project, which is quietly making waves across the continent. At just 25 years old, the Zimbabwean-born creative has founded Intetho Magazine through his umbrella project called Echoes of Uhuru, a magazine that’s breathing new life into Africa’s storytelling tradition. Dabengwa’s journey reads like a modern African renaissance story. But his path wasn’t always clear. Growing up in a small township without a functional library, he discovered his voice…
By Gcina Ntsaluba The community of Sigidi village and the wider Amadiba area are celebrating a significant victory in the Makhanda High Court, as a final ruling confirmed their customary land rights and halted an illegal land invasion project. The judgment, in Case No. 1415/2023, represents a major triumph for the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC) and local residents who have fought for over two decades to defend their ancestral lands. The case centered around an incident in April 2023, when Nero Dlamini and his alleged backers used a tractor loaded backhoe to excavate an area the size of a football field…
By Gcina Ntsaluba A successful parents’ meeting about Nathaniel Nyaluza Secondary School on 25 May, driven by the parent component of the School Governing Body (SGB), has nevertheless intensified existing tensions between the parent and teacher factions, with parents calling for urgent academic intervention and accusing some teachers of sabotaging their efforts. Despite attempts by a faction of the SGB’s teacher component to derail the gathering, including circulating a letter questioning its legitimacy, the meeting went as planned. It drew strong attendance from concerned parents and community members. It centred on the declining academic performance of learners, with a sharp…
By Gcina Ntsaluba In a heartwarming display of community spirit, residents of Makhanda have begun rallying support for orphaned twin sisters who have been struggling since losing both parents in recent years. The sisters cannot be named because they are minors, alongside the fear of stigmatisation. The twins, currently in Grade 9, lost their father in 2019 and their mother in 2022, leaving them in the care of an older sister who, according to reports, has not been providing adequate support. “The first time I met one of the twins, she asked if I wanted to be their mother,” said…
By Gcina Ntsaluba Makana Municipality is set to lose a ward and a proportional representation (PR) council seat due to insufficient voter registration numbers, officials revealed during a public meeting with the Municipal Demarcation Board yesterday. The meeting, attended by various political parties, nongovernmental organisations, and community stakeholders, highlighted the critical impact of voter registration on municipal representation and funding. According to the municipality’s speaker, Mabhuti Matyumza, registered voters had increased marginally from 42 000 to approximately 44 000 in recent years, despite the municipality’s population growing from about 80 000 to an estimated 120 000 during the same period.…
By Gcina Ntsaluba A significant economic boost is coming to Makhanda as construction begins on the Wind Garden wind farm project. During its construction phase, more than 300 temporary jobs will be created, with a substantial portion reserved for local workers. The 94.5 MW wind energy facility, 18km north-west of Makhanda, was officially launched at a ground-breaking ceremony on 7 May attended by local government officials and project stakeholders. The event marked the beginning of construction on the renewable energy project that promises both environmental and economic benefits for the region. Makana Municipality Executive Mayor Yandiswa Vara delivered the keynote…
By Gcina Ntsaluba Concerns are mounting over the appointment of Kanyisa property and management services for the crucial five-yearly municipal property valuation process in Makhanda. This valuation directly impacts residents and businesses as it forms the basis for property rate calculations. At a recent gathering, questions were raised regarding the legitimacy of Kanyisa’s appointment, which has led to challenges in addressing potentially flawed valuations. Some of the mistakes in the valuations include incorrect owner names, sectional title complexes being left out, and some properties being valued at a tenth of their value. It was also revealed that due diligence conducted indicated that…
By Gcina Ntsaluba A 57-year-old Makhanda spiritual healer, Ntombentsha Limbo, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment for the death of 10-year-old boy who was brought to her for healing. Limbo was sentenced by the Makhanda Regional Court after she was convicted on a charge of culpable homicide. According to Luxolo Tyali the Regional Communications Manager at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA): “The offence occurred on 4 October 2023 in Joza Location, Makhanda, where the deceased Agcobile Busakwe collapsed and died after numerous unconventional treatment methods were administered on him by the healer. He had been taken to the healer by his father…