By NYX MCLEAN and ROD AMNER On Thursday morning, we shared another story about the Makana Citizens Front (MCF) and the moment we had been anticipating arrived. Someone said that we seemed to be the mouthpiece of MCF. We had been expecting this criticism because we had yet to receive any communication from any other political party. So the majority of our stories on the local elections had centred on the MCF. This, we recognised, put us at risk of seeming only to be reporting on the MCF. Grocott’s Mail is not a mouthpiece to any political party. We are…
Author: Rod Amner
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Paul Maylam recorded 9.7mm of rain in Cathcart Street from 30 September to 6 October, 1.8mm more than the 7.9mm Jim Cambray measured in Park Road. Temperatures ranged from 6.5 to 27 degrees Celcius. In September, Jim’s total for Park Road is 55.3mm, close to the average for the month, which is 50.3mm, and above the median of 41.8mm. He is wondering what the spring rains will be like. We would all be grateful if our total October rains total even a third of the whopping 319.7mm we received in 2021.
By JESSICA FELDTMAN In the busy township of kwaNobuhle, Kariega (formerly Uitenhage), Volkswagen (VW) has collaborated with educational NGOs and the Department of Education to help learners in five schools read for meaning by Grade 3. The VW Legacy Literacy Project is grounded in the philosophy of additive bilingualism, which proposes that children would learn another language more easily if they were literate in their mother tongue. The kwaNobuhle schools enrolled for the literacy project are Vubani Primary, Ntlemeza Primary, Mngcunube Primary, Noninzi Primary, and James Ntungwana Primary. Nikki Green, the community programmes coordinator for CSD, said the environments around these…
By MZWANDILE MAMAILA These same resources reached the hands of the Rhodes University Community Engagement team, Vulindlela. The Covid-19-induced shift from physical to virtual teaching interactions has spurred the rise of a new generation of heroes in South African education. One of them is Shaakira Mia, an educator born and bred in Gqerbha, who realised that education should not stop due to the pandemic. With online teaching experience before Covid-19, she had already been exposed to numerous online resources. Being part of numerous educational groups on Facebook and Twitter and knowing how to work her way around the Department of…
By ISIPHO NGUTYANA, RENEE MOYO and TOLERATE CHILOANE Tuesday mornings are as busy as they come for Nosi Nkwinti. She can spare us just 30 minutes, so we try to expand that window by driving to work with her. She’s busy because she works in Makhanda, and this has been a volatile place for the past couple of years. People like Nosi ensure that the university’s community engagement activities run as efficiently as possible despite the upheaval – and that takes a lot of doing. Nosi joined Rhodes University Community Engagement (RUCE) in 2012 and now holds the position of…
By DUMISA MPUPHA (This poem encourages communities to vaccinate for it is the available working option for now.) Siyabahlonipha abo bangafuni kuhlatywa naliti. Masixhasaneni singanyembani mawaba akowethu Ndibiz’izithixo zase Kemet OoAmen, ooTehuti noo Ma’at Zona saziyo ukuba zosivul’amehlo Kule ntsunguzi siphila phantsi kwayo Zisiqinise zisomeleze nokuba zizigodo Kodwa zenziwe sithi kuphela Camagu! Sisihayhayi nesinyeliso kwabaziyo Kodwa kukuphila nokufa kwabanye Simbuna sinjalo siyakhangela ukuphila Okupheleleyo okugqibeleleyo Uxhuzulo olusizele nembubhiso sanele Camagu! Masimthatheni uFayiza oza kabini Singamlibali uYohane no Yohane Izikhulu ezise mthethweni ngabula rhulumente Kuba balusebenzele uninzi neenginginya Iminqonqo ibisel’ijong’ezantsi Camagu! Siyabahlonipha abo bangabafuniyo aba bafo Gxebe ngaba ngamabhinqa na la…
By ROD AMNER With a court order hanging over its head, the Makana Municipality (MM) has intensified its illegal dumping awareness campaign. According to MM spokesperson Anele Mjekula, the aim is “to reach out to the community and send a clear message regarding the dangers of illegal dumping and littering”. The awareness campaigns have revealed that most households do not know and do not adhere to refuse collection schedules. The MM recently breached a court order by the Makana High Court demanding that they clear seven illegal dumpsites by Wednesday, 29 September. They removed just two of the dumpsites. The muni…
By ROGER ROSWELL It’s looking promising for good rains for the Spring season. At Darling Street, the monthly total was 48.4mm over nine raindays. This is slightly better than the LTMed at 45.1mm but has not quite achieved the LTA at 52.7mm. Since June, the monthly rainfall has been steadily on the increase. The lowest rainfall recorded for September in 36 years (1986-2021) was 1.4mm (2013) and the highest 170.8mm (2002). About 60% of the September monthly rainfall has been in the range of 0mm to 50mm. I have compared this year’s monthly rainfall in Darling Street with the 1922…
By STAFF REPORTER The Makana Citizens Front has adopted a code of conduct that includes voters’ right to recall. During the shutdown protest of 16 June 2021, a promise was made by community activists to Makhanda residents: if you disapprove of our performance as local councillors, fire us. MCF candidates have signed a code of conduct that reads: “If 100 voters of my constituency (ward voters for ward councillors, all of Makana for PR councillors) sign a well-motivated petition for me to step down, the management committee shall convene a disciplinary committee that provides a fair process, and I will…
By CHESLEY DANIELS The man found dead in a stream on Sunday under mysterious circumstances has been described by his sister as a good, humble, respectful person loved by everyone in the community. The body of Phillip Bosch, 48, was found in a stream near his home in Valley Road, Vergenoeg, just after 6 pm on Sunday, 3 October. According to Bosch’s sister Lynette Koeberg, Phillip was last seen Saturday afternoon when he visited Zolani to visit his friends. “He left the Saturday afternoon and didn’t come home. Normally we expect him to sleep over at his friend’s place, but we…