By Ruvesen Naidoo In this week’s Feature Friday series, we focus on the outdoors and getting involved in different recreational activities in Makhanda that reflect both the region’s history in South Africa and its many cultural, fun, and interesting offerings. These range from the annual Ghost Walk next month to a visit to the Observatory Museum located at 10 Beaufort Street in Makhanda. This week, Grocott’s Mail looks at ten things to do in Makhanda. Haunted Makhanda “For believers in the paranormal, Makhanda, (Grahamstown), is considered to be one of the most iconic towns in South Africa. Ghost stories abound…
Author: Ruvesen Naidoo
Read More
By Ruvesen Naidoo In this week’s Feature Friday article, we focus on wellness, spotlighting three captivating destinations in and around Makhanda that not only enrich our understanding of our heritage but also provide a soothing escape. The first chosen place of interest for this week includes the Xhosa Plant Exhibition located at 40 Somerset Street. Dr. Phumlani Viwe Cimi, director at Albany Science Museum, said the exhibition is significant in the continued practice of rituals in the IsiXhosa culture and, ultimately, a celebration of heritage. Cimi, who was initially employed as a botanist at the museum, said, “We are concerned…
By Ruvesen Naidoo To celebrate Heritage and Tourism Month, Grocott’s Mail has partnered with Makana Tourism for a four-part ‘Feature Friday’ series. The articles will provide a description of different tourist attractions in and around Makhanda in honour of Heritage and Tourism Month. The series focuses on four key tourist categories: History, Wellness, Outdoors, and Food. Situated within the Makana region in the Eastern Cape, Makhanda (formerly known as Grahamstown) offers a wide range of tourist attractions. Makana Tourism Marketing and Communications officer Prudence Mini explains that there are hidden gems in the city, such as an actual stream of…
By Ruvesen Naidoo Residents of Sun City informal settlement in Makhanda are terrified after dark because they have not one working street light, they told Grocott’s Mail. The problem also affects residents of Ghost Town, next to Sun City, and Hooggenoeg just up the hill as the areas are connected by a path of a few hundred metres that runs through an overgrown, bushy area. Grocott’s Mail reported last week that, because of a long-term sewage leak running down the hill, many of the bushes have grown to a huge size. Workers have no option but to walk through the…
By Ruvesen Naidoo The residents of First Avenue in Hoggenoeg, Makhanda are fed up with a huge flood of sewage that they say is 20 years old, and affects their health and livelihoods. A once-empty piece of land between First Avenue and Sun City informal settlement is now overgrown with bushes that have flourished as a result of the sewage leak. This makes the path across this land very dangerous for pedestrians who walk through it on their way to different workplaces in town. Resident Roy Sauls, who lives one street away in Second Avenue, Hooggenoeg says “We have made…
By Ruvesen Naidoo With a heavy heart, the owners of the 124-year-old Grahamstown Laundry and Dry Cleaners in High Street are closing down because of their poor state of health, and the impact of load shedding and water cuts. Navin Narshai, one of the owners of Grahamstown Laundry and Dry Cleaners, manages the business alongside his wife, Maya Narshai, and younger brother Ashwin Narshai. He told Grocott’s Mail that the laundry was an enduring link between generations, having been handed down through four generations. Describing the laundry’s establishment in Makhanda, Narshai recalls stories that were shared by his grandparents and…
By Ruvesen Naidoo Peppergrove Mall has a new healthcare service facility that will be open for 13 hours a day, seven days a week. The Meta Clinic has been open for nine days now, with branches in Gqeberha and Elardus Park, Pretoria. Experienced local doctors Dr. Fred Oosthuizen and Dr. Unine Odendaal will be leading the practice, which offers regular primary health care services, including basic cardiac screening, abscess drainage, sutures, family planning, ECG analysis, sprain management, sutures, family planning, and women’s health services. One of three doctor’s rooms at Meta Clinic Makhanda. Photo Supplied. Jullian Britz, one of the…
By Ruvesen Naidoo A new event known as ‘Play With Your Food’ wants families who do not know each other to host meals where the children and parents play together as they eat. ‘Play With Your Food’ was launched recently by OpenSeat in collaboration with ChangeX and the Lego Foundation and aims to make mealtime a more enjoyable activity for kids and parents through the use of games and play. OpenSeat is an interesting web platform that allows hosts to warmly invite unfamiliar faces into their homes for dinner, at a fee, with at least one Makhandan signing up to…
By Ruvesen Naidoo Recently, the community of Makhanda has been grappling with a series of pressing water-related challenges. Amongst the recurring water cuts and shortages, a glaring concern arises as the Makana Municipality appears to be overlooking the issue of burst pipes, displaying a deep lack of urgency in addressing and restoring these critical infrastructure failures. Ayanda Kota, Makana Citizens’ Front Secretary and an activist in the Unemployed People’s Movement, told Grocott’s Mail that “40 % of water is wasted in this country due to leaks. Our municipality must be one of the worst and no attempt is made to…
By Ruvesen Naidoo South Africa faces an unavoidable reality with the surge in load shedding affecting the lives of its citizens. Addressing this crisis, Matshela Koko, Eskom’s former interim group CEO, emphasised crucial solutions during a recent teach-in organised by Rhodes University’s Politics department on 10 July. Building a skilled workforce, efficient maintenance management, improved operations, and customer-centric practices are essential steps towards ending load shedding in the country, he said. Koko, who is currently the managing director of Matshela Energy, has worked in the energy industry for over 25 years. But he is not without a cloud hanging over…