By LIKHAPHA THAATAA The Makana Municipality cleared a massive pile of rubbish around the JD Dlepu football stadium in Joza last week. Executive Mayor Cllr Yandiswa Vara urged residents to ensure no one would dump refuse on that site again. “This is our town – we must be responsible for keeping it clean.” In an official statement, Makana said it was committed to cleaning over 130 illegal dumping sites around the city. “However, if we want to see real results, we also have to play our part. Illegal dumpsites are a direct result of knowingly dumping domestic refuse in areas…
Author: Rod Amner
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By CHESLEY DANIELS Chesley Daniels Old Collegians (OC) 1st XV ended the unbeaten run of log leaders St Mark’s Alicedale with a narrow, nail-biting 31-30 bonus-point win. The EPRU Sedru Regional League clash was played at the Albany Sports Ground on Saturday. OC put up a much-improved performance against St Mark’s after losing to Klipfontein the previous Saturday. OC now moved up to second position ahead of Kowie on the log standings after Kowie lost to Rhodes. St Mark’s remains on top. The game was brutal, hard, physical and went down to the wire. It was a great game of…
By CHESLEY DANIELS Chesley Daniels Rosebuds registered their first win in the EPRU Sedru Regional League with a bonus point 38-17 win over Swallows in Alicedale on Saturday. A commanding first half saw Rosebuds enjoy a healthy 22-3 lead at halftime. Rosebuds winger Gwenton Cedras scored a hat trick of tries and was the major contributor to his side’s first win in the league. Swallows travelled to Alicedale and knew it would never be easy to beat Rosebuds in their backyard at the Alicedale Sports Ground. The atmosphere was perfect for rugby, and a large local crowd witnessed a fantastic…
By ROD AMNER Jack, niks, unothi, nada, zip, zippo, zilch, diddly squat. Sadly, there was no rain in the week from 28 April to 4 May. But, Jim Cambray reported two nights of heavy dew in Park Road, which registered 1.0mm in the pluviometer. Paul Maylam in Cathcart Street and Robin Stobbs in Grant Street confirmed the lack of rain. Temperatures for the week ranged from 8.5-27C, with some lovely autumn weather. Jim’s total for April was 46mm, which is well below the long term average of 63.7mm and the median of 51mm. The minimum for the month occurred in…
By CHESLEY DANIELS Bedford Crusaders claimed hard-fought bragging rights in their local Bedford Derby against Bedford Cranes with a humdinger 15-12 win. The derby was part of the EPRU Midlands Regional League that saw Crusaders take a 15-9 lead at halftime. On a perfect day for rugby on Saturday, 30 April 2022. It will go down in history as the day small-town Bedford showed everybody that there is majestic, raw rugby talent even in rural areas. This is one of the biggest derbies in the Eastern Cape, and it lived up to expectations. It was witnessed by thousands who were…
By STAFF REPORTER Stories of turbulence, healing and triumph thread through this year’s programme as the National Arts Festival returns to Makhanda in a live festival format from 23 June to 3 July 2022. “There’s a pull towards stories from history and explorations of other ways of seeing and being throughout this year’s programme. Uncertain times can lead us to look back, make sense of the present, and find ground,” says NAF Artistic Director Rucera Seethal. “This year, artists have bravely located themselves inside historical moments, failing ecologies, deeply personal questions, and even endings. Here, audiences can expect catharsis, drama,…
By MZWAMADODA MAKALIMA The Makhanda-born organiser of the Ndlambe Music Festival, Siyabulela Madyo, recently initiated an outreach programme in Port Alfred. Madyo’s company Lutifusion used some of the December 2021 Festival revenue to donate school shoes, roll-on deodorant and sanitary pads to Ndlambe schoolchildren. An outreach programme, directed by Godukile Mbolekwa, was attended by Ndlambe Municipality Mayor Khululwa Ncamiso, Speaker Andile Malgas, ward councillors, teachers and pupils from various public schools in the area of Ndlambe Municipality. A group photo at the outreach event. Photo: supplied Ndlambe Music Festival – a collaboration between Lutifusion, Ndlambe Municipality, SAB and Sanral -…
By ROD AMNER Retired Rhodes University librarian Eileen Shepherd has won the fundraising quilt sewn and stitched by the Quilters of Grahamstown (QUOGS) for the people of Ukraine. Shepherd’s lucky number (130) was drawn by Ukrainian national Oleg Kayerleber at QUOG Karen Davies’ home in West Hill on Wednesday afternoon. Raffle tickets were sold online in several countries worldwide, netting R41 000 for the Disasters Emergency Committee fund for Ukraine. Shepherd said she was “thrilled to be the proud owner of this work of art so painstakingly created by these talented ladies”. “What a wonderful surprise to receive a call…
By ANDREW MARTIN On Saturday, April 30, Makhanda hosted one of its largest-ever assemblages of chess players. More than 200 players from Makhanda, East London, Port Alfred, Alice, Mthatha, Jeffrey’s Bay, Butterworth, and other surrounding areas converged for a rapid tournament in which players had about 25 minutes per side. The tournament prizes were sponsored by Kelotlhoko Property Services, with Chris Oosthuizen of Redwood Spur donating burgers and chips to the development section players and officials. Development section participants enjoy a meal sponsored by Redwood Spur. In the A section consisting of 44 players, we had four players – Tshediso…
By AYANDA KOTA, Makana Citizens Front (MCF) In our view, Philip Machanick and Sally Price-Smith, the past and present leaders of the Makana Residents Association (MRA) have misrepresented the facts in their recent letters to Grocott’s Mail. They have chosen the gutter politics of slander. We will maintain the high moral ground. We wish we could come together and work as a town for the common good despite our differences — even deep disagreements. Failure to do this will harm all of us and help perpetuate the problems that motivated the formation of the Makana Citizens Front (MCF) in the…