By Ziyanda Zinyanga and Rod Amner The roaming animal crisis plaguing Makhanda has escalated to the courts, with three major civic organisations serving legal notice on Makana Municipality after years of unfulfilled promises. The Makana Unity League, Business Forum, and Residents’ Association have issued an ultimatum through their lawyers, threatening to compel the Municipality to fulfil its obligations under municipal bylaws and national legislation. Crisis deepens The legal documents reveal the shocking growth of the problem. What was an estimated 100 cattle roaming Makhanda’s streets in 2019 has exploded to approximately 300 cattle, at least 100 donkeys, and an increasing…
Author: Rod Amner
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By Rod Amner Prof Kenneth Ngcoza, a self-proclaimed “child of GADRA”, has chaired the GADRA Education Board since 2012. He handed over the reins to incoming chairperson, Khutliso Daniels High School principal Radio Ncuba, at the organisation’s AGM on Tuesday evening. Ngcoza’s association with GADRA stretches back half a century. As a student, he was a GADRA bursary recipient and then went on to serve the organisation as a science teacher, a donor, and a Board member. “Were it not for this wonderful organisation, I would not have had access to higher education, and I would therefore most certainly not…
By Malebo Pheme Olorato Mongale completed her Bachelor of Journalism degree at Rhodes University in 2016. A year later, she was working for TimesLive as a video journalist. One of the stories Olorato Mongale covered in 2017 was the high-profile case of Karabo Mokoena, a young Soweto woman murdered by her boyfriend. In a tragic twist, Mongale herself was murdered on Sunday, 25 May 2025, just a few kilometres from where Mokoena was found. Mongale had worked briefly as a multimedia journalist at TimesLIVE. According to family spokesperson Criselda Kananda, she left as she was disillusioned by “the horrible stories”…
This month, Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Dickson Masemola and Zolile Williams, the Eastern Cape’s Cooperative Governance MEC, visited Makhanda for an oversight visit of the Makana Local Municipality. They had stern words for the municipality, but it remains to be seen if they will be acted upon, writes JAY KRUUSE, director of the Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM). Every year since 2018/19, the Auditor-General (AG) has repeatedly issued disclaimer audit findings for Makana Municipality. To appreciate the seriousness of this and the level of both political and administrative dysfunction in the municipality it’s important to know…
By Staff Reporter Warm tributes, songs, laughter and pledges of financial support flowed at the Graham Hotel on Tuesday night for outgoing Inkululeko CEO Jason Torreano at his Surprise Farewell and Fundraiser Launch. After 14 years at the helm, the US-based Torreano will officially hand over the reins of the impactful after-school programme to Deputy CEO Zuko Gqadavama and his dynamic team on 1 July. Staff, learners, stakeholders and friends gathered on Tuesday to celebrate his extraordinary cross-continental commitment to the children of the city. Several guests filled out pledges to the Jason Torreano Legacy Fund, and two donated paintings…
By Gcina Ntsaluba Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Dr Namane Dickson Masemola, and Eastern Cape Cogta MEC, Zolile Williams, delivered scathing admonishments to Makana Municipality councillors and officials at the Settlers Monument on Wednesday morning before addressing residents at City Hall. They led a high-level delegation to Makana Municipality in response to citizen protests and a formal memorandum of grievances to Cogta officials. While Masemola avoided pre-judging Makana’s situation before hearing the Executive Mayor Yandiswa Vara’s presentation to the team, his said the damning Auditor-General’s reports from the past five years were a benchmark to evaluate…
By Siya Hlebani Amid increasing pressure on universities to focus on global rankings, research output, and graduate employability, a recent dialogue hosted at Rhodes University made a powerful case for re-centring community engagement and the public good. The event, Higher Education Community Engagement: The Cultivation of Humanity, positioned these values as essential to university success. On 8 and 9 May 2025, Rhodes University hosted the dialogue, where Vice-Chancellor Prof Sizwe Mabizela and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation Prof Peter Clayton delivered compelling addresses. Opening the dialogue, Prof Mabizela challenged the current orientation of universities, asking a question that…
By Staff Reporter This graduation season, 2,063 students received their qualifications from Rhodes University. Among them, 107 came through targeted access pathways supported by GADRA Education, the Rhodes University Bridging Programme, and the 9/10ths mentoring initiative. That is 5.2% of this year’s graduating class—one in every nineteen students—who began their academic journey not through conventional routes but through community-rooted partnerships that are changing what access to higher education looks like in Makhanda. GADRA Education, a local non-profit organisation, has operated in Makhanda for decades. It focuses on public education advocacy, academic support, and systemic reform. Its flagship programme, the GADRA…
The ongoing crisis at Hendrik Kanise Combined School in Alicedale presents a stark paradox. On one hand, its dilapidated buildings, described by desperate parents as a “cemetery”, are deemed unsafe and flagged for collapse. On the other, we witness the sheer resilience and dedication of its students and staff, who achieved an outstanding 96% matric pass rate in 2024 – a remarkable feat for any school, let alone a no-fee institution battling such deplorable conditions. For nearly two weeks, the school gates have remained locked, not by choice but by necessity. Parents, fearing for their children’s safety, are resolute: no…
By Lufuno Masindi In a country battling a literacy crisis, Makhanda is witnessing an exceptional spike in literacy rates. According to the latest citywide Makhanda Reading Comprehension Study by GADRA Education and the Rhodes University Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education, 45% of Grade 4s in our city can read for meaning, more than double the national average of 19.19% found in the Progress in Reading and Literacy Study (PIRLS) in 2021. GADRA Education primary education programme manager Kelly Long said the February study measured the comprehension skills and reading fluency of 1097 children in all 23 schools in…