By Sandile Dudu Saki The Pyks family of Hooggenoeg, who have been stranded in the community’s derelict hall for six years, are finally about to receive a temporary structure built on their plot in Hoeggenoeg’s 5th Avenue, where their house burnt down in 2017. One family member, Poppie Pyks, is confined to a wheelchair after suffering a stroke. The Makhanda Action 4 Accountability (A4A) reported in June this year that the Pyks family was forced to remain in the Hooggenoeg Community Hall for six years after the community moved them in following the fire because they had nowhere else to…
Author: Sandile Saki
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NguSandile Dudu Saki NgoMvulo umhla wama-25 kweyoMsintsi nebilusuku oluyiholide kawonke-wonke, i-‘Museum’ yoLuncwadi yeli loMzantsi Afrika ezinze kweli lakwaMakhanda, eyaziwa njenge- Amazwi isindleke umnyadala wokubhiyozela okungamafa namagugu iHeritage Day ngolwasemzini. IbinguMbo nomXesibe abantu bebuka okuqulethwe ziitafile ebezimbejembeje zihonjiswe ngooni-nooni abaveliswa luluntu olunezakhono ezahlukahlukeneyo. Bezikho nezibiliboco umntu ebenokuzitika kuzo ezinje ngamaqebengwana etshokolethi, iikeki kunye neebhiskithi. Okona kubaluleke nangakumbi kukwazi ukuba ibingelo tyeli lokuqala bewusingatha lo mnyadala koko ibikokwesihlanu ngokokutsho kuka-Crystal Warren, okwangumsebenzi e-Amazwi. UWarren uye waphawula ngelithi, “Eyona nto iphume phambili kum kukubhiyozelwa kokubhalwa, ukuveliswa nokuthengiswa koLuncwadi kulo mnyhadala. Uhambise ngelithi belufudula lungekho uLuncwadi, kungekho kwaqonga lokubonisa ngalo kumaxa adlulileyo. Kokokuqala ukuba…
By Sandile Dudu Saki Amazwi South African Museum of Literature hosted Dr. Andile M-Afrika’s book launch on the evening of 12 September 2023. This was in line with the provincial commemorations of Steve Biko’s murder on 12 September 1977. Whilst it remains a known fact that Steve Biko died at the hands of the Apartheid police, his ideals still live on. The book, which is a series of pocketbooks on the subject of Biko and Black Consciousness, can be read either separately or conjointly as a series and continuation of a single tribute. Speaking at the launch, M-Afrika mentioned Biko’s…
By Sandile Dudu Saki Makana Municipality made a promise at a meeting held at the Council Chambers on the 30th of May that by the 30th of June, there would be no more water outages. The promise was made in light of the hiring of the Amatola Water Board as an intervention to the Water Crisis by the Department of Water and Sanitation. According to sources, the tripartite agreement involving the Department of Water and Sanitation, Makana Municipality, and Amatola Water Board was to allow the latter to fix the bulk water supply crisis affecting the city. However, since then,…
By Sandile Dudu Saki I stare at the peril of your sterile thoughts as you funnel the whisper Naked as the motives of your comrades-in-arms I looked at the firmness of your grip as you pulled the reins galvanising the gathering into oblivious thrills of enchantment Your words, like your promises, dry and hoarse as the gurgling taps You smile, a suspended pothole Perhaps a sinkhole on delivery’s path Eskom wipes your vision, hurling the chamber into darkness And I continue to stare
By Sandile Dudu Saki Four paintings by famous landscape artist Thomas Baines have been successfully restored and are back on display at the Albany Museum in Makhanda. Baines painted the iconic views of Makhanda (then Grahamstown), its early streetscapes, and their progression between 1848 and 1849. Because of their cultural and historic significance, the paintings owned by Nedbank had been on loan to the museum for public viewing since 1977. The paintings were taken down temporarily in 2022 so that art conservator, Lucy Blumenthal, could restore them. “Thomas Baines artworks are a rare sighting – you don’t often get to…
By Sandile Dudu Saki On 23 July, the Rhodes University Canoe Club joined hands with River Rescue, a non-profit organization that cleans up rivers in and around Makhanda, to clean up dirt and overflowing water in Makhanda’s West Street. The Canoe Club is often on the water doing what they are passionate about, canoeing. So, it was their decision to take responsibility for rivers in the town because of the state of pollution in our waters. According to Daniel Dillon, a member of the Canoe Club, they get assigned a river on campus by the River Rescue to clean, “Because…
By Sandile Dudu Saki The Action for Accountability (A4A) annual Town Hall meeting on 21 July at Nompumelelo Pre-School Hall in Joza, was a reflection of Makhanda residents coming together holistically as a collective to find better ways of approaching local governance and service delivery. Funded by the European Union and based in the Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) office at Rhodes University, A4A is a project aimed at enhancing civic active citizenry in all social spheres to tackle the challenges that communities deal with. A4A also works with the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and Johannesburg-based Accountability Lab South Africa. About…
By Sandile Dudu Saki Closing off the week of teach-ins on the energy crisis organised by RU’s Department of Politics was an appearance by Makhanda brewmaster, Dr. Garth Cambray, Director of Makana Meadery. Cambray, a biotechnologist, is well-known in the town for brewing Iqhilika, a traditional isiXhosa fermented honey beverage, and used his speech to advocate for innovative advances by private companies as a solution to the energy crisis. Cambray said with the right technology, much change can be effected. He said he has come up against much opposition in his time, including from politicians who opposed wind turbines, saying…
By Sandile Dudu Saki With the National Arts Festival around the corner, the municipality’s alleged failure to pay Makana Tourism its subsidy has been the talk of social media. With the advent of the second live and interactive National Arts Festival since the Covid-19 lockdowns, Makhandans have been worried about the impact that an underfunded tourism agency would have on the local economy. Traditionally, the agency has proved to be a pivotal link between the National Arts Festival and local arts, hospitality, and tourism establishments in Makhanda. In the special council meeting held on 30 May, ANC mayoral committee member…