By STAFF REPORTER Larger-than-life radio legend Jeremy Mansfield, 59, died on Monday, 31 October, after battling stage four liver cancer. Mansfield was born in Grahamstown/Makhanda, educated at Kingswood College and then Rhodes University, where he majored in Speech and Drama, and Journalism and Media Studies, in 1985. He cut his broadcasting teeth at Rhodes Music Radio (RMR). Mansfield began his radio career on Capital Radio 604 in 1985 while still a student and earned his big break in 1995 when he took up the reins of the Radio 702 afternoon show. He moved to the newly-owned, new-look independent Highveld Stereo…
Author: Rod Amner
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OBITUARY: Siphelo’ Nqontsonqa’ DyongmanBy PHUMELELE LAVISA, curator at the Amazwi SA Museum of Literature The Amazwi South African Museum of Literature is saddened by the news of the untimely passing of one of Makhanda’s most revered wordsmiths, Siphelo Dyongman, fondly known as ‘Nqontsonqa’. Dyongman was a praise poet born and bred in Makhanda on 29 August 1990. His love for isiXhosa was nurtured at Fikizolo Primary school, where he attended events and exhibitions of traditional music and dance. His father, Thembile Dyongman, recalls that Siphelo started his praise singing during his grandmother’s funeral when he was still a child. As…
By STEVE KRETZMANN Two-thirds of South Africa’s municipal piped water does not meet minimum standards. Untreated sewage often flows into drinking water dams. Failure by national and provincial authorities to take action sees citizen groups approaching the courts. Almost two-thirds of South African municipalities responsible for supplying drinking water to residents either fail to provide water that meets the minimum drinking standards or simply fail to test the water they supply. Not all South Africa’s municipalities are responsible for treating and supplying drinking water to residents. Many municipalities are supplied by water boards which are state-owned companies. But of the…
By STAFF REPORTER A representative of the Nedbank Eyethu Community Trust, which currently supports 45 students to do bridging courses at Rhodes University, said on a recent site visit that the programme gave her “goosebumps”. Nedbank Eyethu Community Trust representative, Bulelani Ntuli, said she was exceptionally pleased with the partnership between Rhodes University and GADRA Education. “What I have witnessed here today, seeing the beneficiaries of our support as an organisation, and the eagerness from the Rhodes Vice-Chancellor, Dr Sizwe Mabizela and project leader, Diana Hornby, gives me goosebumps,” she said. Nedbank has supported the fund since 2019 and allocated…
Get set for a bumper weekend of family fun for the G2C Mountain Bike event from Makhanda (“Grahamstown”) to Port Alfred (the “C”!) on Sunday, 6 November. This year, organisers the Makana Residents Association (MRA) have collaborated with Get out and Run, who are organising the fabulous Oldenburgia Trail runs on Saturday, 5 November. That event has distances to suit all ages and abilities, from a technical 30km route to a 3km trail which can be walked. Entry and more information on the Get out and Run website. https://getoutandrunec.wordpress.com/oldenburgia/ The start and finish for all Oldenburgia running events and the…
By ROD AMNER Makhanda was plunged into a worsening water crisis this week as new leaks and challenges sprung up around the city. Another major burst pipe on Tuesday, 1 November, this time on the transfer line at Valley Road, Vergenoeg, according to Makana Municipality Communications officer Anele Mjekula. Only the western side reservoirs and Tantyi reservoir could be opened on Wednesday, a precious ‘on day’. The Botha’s Hill reservoirs had to be closed to allow the pipeline to drain to detect the problem. However, the repairs were done on Wednesday as the municipal water team isolated the faulty part,…
By ROD AMNER Makhandans received an apology from Deputy Minister of Human Settlement, Water and Sanitation David Mahlobo in a Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) portfolio committee oversight meeting in Parliament this week. He said he was “ashamed” of the decade-long delays besetting the upgrade of the James Kleynhans Water Treatment Works and bemoaned the past weakness of the implementing agent, Amatola Water. “We apologise to Makhanda – we denied them the right to water,” he said. He promised to accelerate the project completion, now set for June 2023. “Your dignity will be restored,” Mahlobo vowed. Deputy Water Minister…
The healing powers of music unite cultures and communities across the globe. Africa’s connection to music goes to a deep spiritual level. Yamkela Ntshakaza, a Master’s music candidate at Rhodes University, is researching music and African spirituality as a way of healing for a new Africa, writes ELAINE WABWIRE. Yamkela Ntshakaza was six years old when Michael Jackson’s Invincible album captured his soul. Today, Ntshakaza is a Master’s candidate at Rhodes University researching why and how traditional healers use music in their healing methods and how music facilitates healing. “The past has seen Africans stripped of who they are and…
Dear Madam Mayor, I wrote to you some time ago offering to give the same talk to your Councillors that I recently presented to the Friends of the Library on the history of local government in Grahamstown/Makana. My address was based on six theses done by the Rhodes University Department of History covering the period 1837-1960 and also attempting to fill in what happened during the post-1960 period. Grahamstown was only the second municipality in the country to become formally incorporated (following Port Elizabeth by a few months). It was at the forefront of the development of local government in…
By CHRIS TOTOBELA On Saturday, football fans came in numbers to witness a workers’ football tournament hosted by the Hi-Tec staff football team. It was a lovely family outing, and the action on the field did not disappoint. In some of the day’s fixtures, St Andrew’s College (SAC) kicked off their campaign with a convincing 3-0 win, while the hosts Hi-Tec knocked out Pic n Pay in a penalty shootout. Tyeks security company knocked out Correctional Services, while Fort England eased past Makhanda Legends by three goals to nil. Rhodes University came from behind to force a draw against Tower…