Author: Grocott's Mail Contributors

We are expecting rain and showers from Thursday through to Saturday for most parts of the Eastern Cape. “Some snowfalls are expected over the high lying areas on Thursday evening, while strong southerly winds expected in places over the interior on Thursday and Friday,” said Gareth Sampson. Further good news is that the seasonal forecast is looking promising for the rest of the year,  for the entire region, with above-average rainfall being forecast. This does not mean that the drought will be broken and we must use water sparingly. Updates will be sent out as the system develops. Garth Sampson of SA Weather Service…

By PRUDENCE MINI Dancing on the streets of Makhanda to tackle tatty roads would certainly have sounded peculiar to anyone but it attracted hundreds of residents on Sunday afternoon as they gathered at the Church Square to raise funds for deserving community projects. Just four weeks ago, Ladies 1st driving school owner Anna-Maré Herselman alongside, other Makhanda residents Danika Pearson and Francois “Frankie” van Eck, encouraged Makhanda to come together for Makhanda’s very own, Jerusalema Dance Challenge. The event soon grew legs as a fundraising initiative to assist community initiatives like Makana Revive. The Jerusalema Dance Challenge appeal also received…

The third annual SweepSouth Report on Pay and Working Conditions for Domestic Work in South Africa was released on 20 September paints a stark picture of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the lives of women striving to make a living as domestic workers. Compiled from almost 5 000 survey responses, overwhelmingly from women (97%), the report evidences a drastic reduction in food spending by 64% of respondents with 93% saying they are the main breadwinner in a home with children. Commenting on the release of the report, SweepSouth co-founder and CEO, Dr Aisha Pandor said, “The results of…

Woineshet Bischoff’s big wish for Makhanda is for a recreational area in the city that’s exclusively for children. She was speaking to Grocott’s Mail on the eve of her retirement from 18 years of service at Child Welfare Grahamstown. “There’s nowhere for children in our town to go and play safely,” Bischoff said. “And that’s so important.” When she and husband Paul Bischoff move to the Western Cape at the end of the year, it will be her hope that someone takes a children’s park on as a pilot project. “They should identify a nice place in town, set up…

Get off the couch and delay dementia in old age More than 50 million people globally live with dementia, a figure expected to treble in the next 30 years, but up to 40% of cases could be prevented or delayed by reducing risks – including getting exercise, eating healthily, and staying mentally fit and socially active, says the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP).         . Smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, diabetes, hypertension, depression and air pollution are among the 12 risk factors for dementia identified by the medical journal The Lancet’s Commission on Dementia in July 2020, along with lower…

On 22 September the Imbumba Association for the Aged (“Imbumba”) will apply to the High Court, Eastern Cape Division at Grahamstown, for an urgent interdict. This seeks to compel the Eastern Cape Department of Social Development to pay their member organisations the subsidies owed them in terms of the Service Level Agreements SLA) concluded with the department. These funds, which are intended to support a range of community-based services to older persons, have not been paid since 1 April 2020, according to a statement from Imbumba. The case centres on the following, according to Imbumba: “In mid-May the department entered…

Makana Municipality is happy to announce that the refurbishment of the Alicedale water treatment plant has been completed. The refurbishment of the plant was undertaken to enable the water treatment works (WTW) to operate and provide adequate capacity for current demand and provision of future demand and to further meet and comply with the drinking water quality standards. Water was historically supplied to Alicedale town from the Alicedale Dam (New Year’s Dam) situated north-east of the town, by pumping water to the treatment works. Due to the current severe drought experienced in the region, the water level of this dam has…

(Owayosimnik’ imbeko) The last in the long list of freedom fighters, we remember Andrew Mlangeni among the best politicians in our lifetime. Farewell, tataMlangeni. May your soul rest in beautiful peace and power. Mabandl’ aseAfrik’ anivanga na? Anisivanga n’ esisambakranya ndiyasinyanya Igqala lengqaka kumagqalanqa Umthi omkhulu wakwaMlangen’ uwile Umqolo kaKhongolos’ utshonile! Tatalahote zinkosi zam! Zinxibamxhaka nani zithwalandwe, Isisele senyathi sindulukile Apho iinto zooRamaphosa bezidimbaza khona Buzan’ uZuma uyakunixela de nive! Uyongenelela kumathongo endlu emnyama Abo bawumelayo lo mzi weAfrika baqina Bengagungqi bengagungqiswanto Bethwele kwangaz’ zithukuthuku De kwavel’ ukukhanya nya, nya! Tata Mlangeni sikuqhwabel’ izandla Tata Mlangeni sikubethel’ ihlombe Wen’ ozaziy’…

By PRUDENCE MINI Against the backdrop of Tourism and Heritage Month, the #JerusalemaDanceChallenge phenomenon has spurred on a movement in Makhanda as a way for civil society to unite in positivity and hope. As the town grapples with aging infrastructure and the economic effects of the Covid-19 lockdown, residents from all corners of Makana will be putting their best foot forward on Sunday 27 September to dance to the famous beats of Master KG’s song in Makhanda’s Church Square. Makhanda resident Anna-Maré Herselman is the co-ordinator of Makhanda’s very own Jerusalema Dance Challenge. She said the town had faced several challenges…

Amatola Water has urged community members to work with Ndlambe Municipality and the police to prevent cable theft at the water extraction plant serving Kenton on Sea. The theft of essential infrastructure was causing ongoing water outages and robbing Amatola Water of thousands of Rands. The Albany Coast Reverse Osmosis Plant extracts and process water from sand dune boreholes at Diaz Cross. Amatola Water, the bulk water supplier in  Ndlambe’s Wards 3 and 4, is every week replacing cables that get stolen there, costing the entity thousands of rands a month. The cable theft also causes damage to the plant,…