Author: Mbali Tanana

By Mbali Tanana It was a special treat for 19 children from Child Welfare Makhanda when they were invited to Spur’s national 58th birthday celebration where they were also showered with gifts from some of Makhanda’s business owners. The 19 boys and girls are currently placed in the Ikhaya Losizo Safe House as part of a programme by Child Welfare. While some children have been orphaned, others are survivors of gender-based violence and sexual assault. It was happiness all around when the children took over the Redwood Spur play area, playing games as they awaited their burger meals which were followed…

By Mbali Tanana This week marked the end of the high school career for many matriculants who started with their final examinations this week.  In Makhanda, Mary Waters High School candidates said it was a bittersweet moment as they faced the first exam, English Paper Three yesterday. Head boy Ashlinn Whitebooi, 17, moments after writing his exam, said it had been a nerve wrecking couple of weeks leading to the start of his final exams. “I don’t want to lie, although I have been studying very hard I was very nervous when I entered the exam room and that’s when…

By Mbali Tanana Makhanda’s Pumba Private Game Reserve scooped top prize in the category Exceptional Safari and Game Drive Experience at the inaugural Eastern Cape Tourism Awards last weekend. “Tourism is about more than experiences, it is about the jobs created, the businesses supported, and the pride that fills every community welcoming visitors to share in what we have to offer,” said Kouga Local Municipality deputy mayor Timothy Jantjies during the glitzy ceremony held in Jeffrey’s Bay. Mande Bage, public relations and international sales manager for the Port Elizabeth Hotel Group which owns Pumba, said they were excited to scoop top prize…

By Mbali Tanana Legendary isiXhosa writer, poet and custodian of culture Samuel Edward Krune Mqhayi will be celebrated next week by Rhodes University’s African Languages department, in commemoration of Heritage Day in partnership with Grocott’s Mail. Mqhayi, who is known for the seven isiXhosa stanzas he contributed to the South African national anthem, Nkosi Sikeleli Afrika, among other great works, was born on 1 December 1875 and died on 29 July 1945. Head of the African Languages Department Prof Linda Kwatsha said the department has been firm in celebrating the life and works of Mqhayi annually on 29 July, the…

By Mbali Tanana Two Rhodes University Fine Art students have walked away with a merit award and R10 000 in prize money at the annual Sasol New Signature competition. The opportunity drew interest from 903 artists who made submissions from eight collection points across the country. The entries were shortlisted to 106 finalists and ultimately saw Fine Art Master’s candidate Snelihle Asanda Maphumulo and fourth year Bachelor of Fine Art student Sarah Volker among the final top seven contestants. Winners were announced recently at the Pretoria Art Museum where their work will be exhibited for the next few weeks. Layered…

By Mbali Tanana Pumba Private Game Reserve has been named one of two finalists in the category of ‘Exceptional Safari and Game Park Experience’ by the Eastern Cape Tourism Awards. The Makana-based reserve boasts of being “the ultimate destination for an authentic African Safari experience where tourists and guests get to encounter free roaming wildlife while reconnecting with nature and creating beautiful memories in the backdrop of the luxurious setting”. Known for its exclusive collection of wild animals, including the rare white lion, Pumba will be battling it out for first prize in this category against the Jeffery’s Bay-based Kouga Rhino…

By Mbali Tanana and Chris Totobela The sudden passing of former Women’s Rugby Springbok, Daphne Scheepers, has left the community of Makhanda reeling in shock. Scheepers, 41, died in a hospital in Gqeberha last Saturday. Thembisa Matomela, elder sister to the decorated sports star, confirmed that the multi-talented “Didiza,” as she was affectionately known, died from complications following the birth of her first child, a daughter born two weeks ago. “…now I have her newborn baby here in my arms, and Daphne will always live through her,” Matemola said. Known for her passion for sport, Matomela says her sister played multiple…

By Mbali Tanana Women’s Day has become a date women have now used to attend glitzy functions, dress up, attend high teas in picturesque settings, and take lots of photographs. That is not entirely a bad thing. Not if at the centre of it all we are remembering the women who have allowed us to have a seat at the tables we were not always allowed at. The women of 1956, who led the march on the Union Buildings to stop the extension of the dompas for women under the JG Strijdom regime, did not allow the racial divide of the…

By Mbali Tanana “Exceptional road handling, especially on the gravel and the pothole-riddled roads of Makhanda.” That’s why Isuzu Bakkies are best for Brent Emslie, a farmer and co-business owner of Albany Pumps. Emslie was speaking about why he keeps returning to the local Kelston Isuzu Grahamstown dealership which recently scooped the top prize as the Dealer of the Year at the annual national Isuzu Dealer Awards 2025 held in Gqeberha recently. “It’s no surprise that the dealership is the best in the country and I say this because I have been their customer from as early as 2006. They…

Muneyi: The Beginning, Music Venue: Guy Butler Review By Mbali Tanana Lufuno – which means love in Tshivenda – was the most frequently use word throughout the night by Muneyi, the Standard Bank Young Artist who left his heart on the stage of the Guy Butler after his one night only performance of The Beginning last night. The word “lufuno” was first used at the start of the show when Muneyi sang a song he described to be a tribute to his grandmother, a women he holds very close to his heart. This set the tone for the rest of the…