By CHESLEY DANIELS Last weekend, Old Collegians (OC) travelled to Port Alfred to take on host Ndlambe Tigers and came home with a narrow 14-10 win. The fixture was part of the EPRU Sedru Regional League. With the win, the Makhanda side moved up to the second position on the overall log and fought very hard for their win. The game was played in a good spirit, and the physicality was the order of the day. The home side’s big and powerful forwards didn’t make it easy for OC and came hard at them the whole day. Tigers’ forwards were…
Author: Rod Amner
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By CHESLEY DANIELS Klipfontein United 1st XV are the new EPRU Sedru Regional League log leaders after securing a 26-5 bonus-point win over St Mark’s Alicedale on Saturday in Klipfontein. St Mark’s dominance in the first half saw them take a narrow 5-0 lead at halftime. For the first time since the start of the competition, St Mark’s lost their spot at the top of the log to Klipfontein, who are now the new log leaders. St Mark’s now move to third position with OC second. St Mark’s travelled to Klipfontein – a hard nut to crack in their backyard.…
By ESTHER RAMANI, Joza Youth Hub Open Day coordinator The dreams of youth are long, long dreams. But, some young people must navigate so many obstacles even to get a glimmer of their dreams. That is why the Joza Youth Hub came into being: to provide an enhanced academic and extracurricular life to children in Joza and its surrounds. We offer after-school programmes from an inadequate building attached to the Makana Municipality’s Housing Department. We battle with all the issues confronting a volunteer, non-profit organisation: lack of a conducive space, dearth of resources, precarious funding, and very few human beings…
By CHESLEY DANIELS Both Alex and PJ came out guns blazing, entertaining the sizeable local crowd at the Wentzel Park Sports Ground. The game was physical and played at a high tempo from the outset. PJ’s scrumming was outstanding throughout the game, and they dominated affairs upfront. Their scrum put them on the front foot and gave them much-needed momentum that saw Sinethemba Bruintjies scoring a try. Captain Yayen Sias converted to provide PJ with a 7-0 lead. Alex replied with two tries in the form of Eljean Cannon to take his side to a 10-5 lead at the break.…
By LOYISO DYONGMAN Makana Municipality has expressed its gratitude to local businesses who have taken it upon themselves to repair potholes in Makhanda. In an official statement, Executive Mayor Yandiswa Vara thanked the local Pick n Pay, Makana Caltex garage and others for offering to work with the municipality to repair potholes in various streets. Pick n Pay business partner Jon Campbell approached the municipality last month to discuss the possibility of a partnership to repair potholes around Makhanda. Meetings between Makana Municipality, Pick n Pay and Caltex lead to the start of the work on 10 May. “Makana LM…
By ROD AMNER Just 46 of the 6000 solar-powered geysers donated to Makana in 2019 by the Department of Energy and the Central Energy Fund are in a state to be installed. The remaining 5954 geysers worth at least R33.9-million were mysteriously stolen from the Indoor Sports Centre or rendered inoperable because essential copper and brass parts were stolen from their ‘packs’. The shocking news was disclosed in a Makana Infrastructure Development Portfolio Committee meeting on Wednesday, 18 May. Ward 4 Councillor Geoff Embling said there had been no sign of a break-in at the Indoor Sports. How the removal…
By JONATHAN WALTON Jonathan Walton “This document is full of omissions. There are no reference numbers for the projects. Some of the budgets shown have been spent, others are future expenditures. Columns for expenditure in years ahead are blank. Most of the spreadsheet is empty. The only things shown are major infrastructure grants from external sources. Makana should plan to spend 5% of its own budget on capital projects (roughly R17 to R20 million per annum). There should be a budget allocated to ‘Good Governance’, especially after three successive AG disclaimers. Future plans for increased public participation and engagement have…
By the NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL TEAM We’ve added three exciting new shows to the 2022 programme! Amanda Black, Ringo Madlingozi and Bongeziwe Mabandla will each perform live in Makhanda for one night only during the Festival, and bookings are now open at www.nationalartsfestival.co.za.These incredible artists are part of a series of musical highlights spread across the Festival’s two weekends, with plenty of jazz, music, theatre, dance, comedy, visual art, performance art and more throughout the eleven days. Remember that, due to COVID-19 regulations, our venues are only at 50% capacity, so book your tickets early. Gnomes at work in Milner Road for Standard Bank Young Artist Gavin…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE Starting in June, the Rotary Club of Grahamstown will oversee water, sanitation and kitchen upgrades worth R6-million at seven local schools thanks to its concerted collaboration with the global Rotary Club Foundation. Julia Heemstra, who lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, but grew up in Makhanda, has been instrumental in brokering partnerships between local and international Rotary clubs, culminating in a number of school infrastructure project over the past few years. Her father, Phillip, was an ichthyologist at Rhodes University and she spent her formative years at Stepping Stones Preschool, Oatlands Primary, Victoria Girls Primary School before migrating…