Author: Grocott's Mail Contributors

By NOMKHITHA GYSMAN Remember #SandtonShutdown? So, what happened to ‘Make my safety your business’? Highlighting the escalation of gender-based violence in South Africa in 2018 and 2019 were two significant protest marches. The first one, on 3 August 2018, dubbed #TotalShutdown, was a women-only protest march, targeting the presidency. President Ramaphosa had to fly back from out of town to receive and commit to the demands presented. The next one, #SandtonShutdown, on 12 September 2019, highlighted business complicity in gender-based violence. While both marches involved a good number of many gender-rights activists, and can be viewed as successful in terms…

By CHAD KEATES Recently, a multinational team of herpetologists (reptile scientists) discovered both a new species and genus of snake in Africa. Both were named in honour of local giants of the African snake world, Dr Christopher Kelly and Professor William (Bill) Branch, respectively. The animals in question belong to a large group of snakes called Psammophiinae, that can be found from the Cape of Good of Hope all the way to Uzbekistan. While widespread and abundant, the taxonomy (classification) of this group remains unresolved, a result of the striking similarity of the snakes within this group. Genetics, thus, plays…

This presentation was made during the Makhanda Community Forum session on 26 June 2020: ‘Back to business – Makhanda post-Covid-19’.  Thank you RMR, GM, NAF, Upstart and Rhodes School of Journalism and Media Studies for inviting me and hosting this initiative. I am here as a representative of business, but certainly don’t speak on behalf of business – the are other forums that do that (Grahamstown Business Forum, Makana Revive, GRA and others.) I also speak as a citizen of the town, and not on behalf of my employer. The fact that we are having this discussion means that we…

Over the past two weeks CSD staff members, Nolly Shelle, Boniwe Msimango and Vati Shelle have been distributing a total of 1000 DUPLO 6-bricks packs through 25 early childhood development (ECD) centres to more than 600 families.  The bricks come with a resource booklet with lots of games and activities which help to foster fine motor skills, and build numeracy and even literacy skills through playful learning. This donation was made possible by Care for Education in collaboration with the LEGO foundation and facilitated by the Circle of Unity Education Cluster, and forms part of the CSDs bigger campaign to support parents and care-givers in their engagement with…

Makhanda is in for two very cold days, and a cold front making landfall over the south-western parts of the Western Cape early on Monday morning has resulted in gale to strong gale force (65-100km/h) north-westerly to westerly winds over the Western, Northern and Eastern Cape Provinces as well as along the coast between Cape Columbine and George, spreading to Port Alfred in the evening. High seas, with wave heights of 6m to 9m are expected between Lamberts Bay and Port Alfred, with very high seas of wave heights between 9m to 13m expected between Slangkop and Port Alfred. The coast…

UPDATE THURSDAY MORNING – All from South African Weather Service WARNINGS 09/07/2020: Gale force NW winds of at least 62km/h are expected in placed over the interior, including Willowmore, Graaff-Reinet, Cradock, Somerset east, Grahamstown, Fort Beaufort, Enoch Mgijima LM and in places over Senqu LM. 09-10/07/2020: Extremely high fire danger conditions are expected over the Sarah Baartman, Amathole, Chris Hani and Joe Gqabi DM’s as well as Buffalo City Metro today, but over Joe Gqabi and Chris Hani DM’s as well as Dr Beyers Naude and Blue Crane Route LM’s tomorrow. WATCH 10/07/2020: Strong to gale force NW winds are expected…

Step aside Ghost Busters… meet Makhanda’s own Pink Busters! Inspired by the Ghost Busters of the eponymous movie, who rescued New York City from evil spirits, The Pink Busters is a partnership with a Makhanda pantsula group to spread a message of hope and survival during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Pink Busters – described as “four essential educators, entertainers and helpers of the community in this time of the virus” – have partnered with the Isikhumbuzo Applied History Unit at Rhodes University and professional Makhanda pantsula dance group, Dlala Majimboz to produce The Pink Busters in time for the first Virtual National…

TRIBUTE AARON NKEBENGE FALTEIN The Makhanda football fraternity is shocked and saddened by the passing of Makhanda’s oldest football supporter. Mr Aaron Nkebenge Faltein. He passed away on Tuesday 30 June after a short illness. Aaron Faltein was a diehard  supporter of the legendary club Eleven Attackers which piled up trophies and accolades at its peak. He initiated the move of his twin sons from Joza Callies to Attackers. There they joined their elder brother, who had already made a name for himself as one of the best shot-stoppers in town. Aaron Faltein was a regular at JD Dlepu stadium…

By NICHOLAS SCARR Chief Directorate: Environmental Affairs Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs & Tourism Monitoring and Advocacy Programme, Public Service Accountability Monitor 2020/21 Budget Review July 2020 Introduction The Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) conducted comprehensive analyses of the 2012/13 – 2015/16 budgets of the Chief Directorate: Environmental Affairs of the Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT), and published brief reviews of the Chief Directorate’s 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20 budgets. The complexion of the Chief Directorate’s budget remained essentially unchanged from 2012/13 to 2019/20, and  2020/21 financial year. The 2020/21 budget of DEDEAT…

By AMANDA MNGOMEZULU ‘You’re fired!’ These are words we never want to hear, but the reality is they’re said more often than we think – sometimes not put quite this way, but the effect is the same. You are being dismissed from work, and you become unemployed. A dismissal refers to a situation where an employment relationship between an employer and his/her employee is terminated by the employer. Whilst this has many financial and psychological implications for the employee, the fairness or unfairness of the dismissal is always determined by the grounds of the dismissal, and whether or not a…