By Selenathi Botha Several residents of Makhanda’s Ghost Town, including a 77-year-old pensioner, were abruptly disconnected from their pre-paid electricity recently after the council insisted that they repay municipal debts allegedly incurred by their now-deceased parents and grandparents. The families were only reconnected 10 days later after community activists held several meetings with the municipality. Ghost Town activist Weston du Plessis, who represented the disconnected families, said that residents of the community had been facing the additional nightmare of having lengthy water cuts and barely any refuse removal – even though they are expected to pay monthly rates. Ghost Town…
Author: Selenathi Botha
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By Selenathi Botha After complaining for years about a large sewage leak in front of their house, the Hartzenberg family who lives in Matthew Street, Fort England is still not satisfied with the Makana Municipality. Grocott’s Mail reported in April this year that the giant sewage flood had eaten away the family’s driveway and they could no longer drive in and out of the house. Since then, the eroded driveway and road have been fixed with concrete. However, the repair might not last long because sewage continues to flood across the road. Patricia Hartzenberg said she feels that Makana municipality…
By Selenathi Botha Taking care of and protecting our animals should be our daily routine, which it is for Dr Nicola Clayton, owner of the local Grahamstown Veterinary Clinic. Clayton is one of four riders who will be raising money on 8 October for treatments for dogs, donkeys, feral cats, and wildlife. The Butterfly Effect teamed up with Hi-Tec Security and Meta Clinic, with the idea of having a mountain bike race to get donations and raise funds so that they can continue to take care of animals. Clayton, Todd Simon, Marlin Thomas, and Dylan Haarhoff will be participating in…
By Owethu Kholosa Nokhangela, Zintle Makhanya and Selenathi Botha Older people have found a better way to spend their retirement years celebrating active ageing. On 31 August, the first annual The Golden Games took place at Rhodes University Astro Fields. The aim of the games was to encourage community members who are 60 years and older to participate in different activities, which included passing the ball, meters run, a rugby ball throw, a 200-meter peg for people living with disabilities, and many more. Participating teams were from Makana and Ndlambe Municipalities. To kick off the games, the Archbishop of the Ethiopian…
By Selenathi Botha It’s been a good year at Nombulelo Secondary School in Joza, Makhanda. The school has always been known as one of the musical best, boasting several choirs and musical ensembles. These include soloists, trios, an all-female choir, and, since 31 January, an all-male choir. The male choir is led by educator Xolani Jonono who says the choir has entered quite a number of competitions this year. They finally ended up at the South African Schools Choral Eisteddfod (SASCE) in Johannesburg, taking home second place in their category on 30 June. Jonono, also the conductor of the choir,…
By Selenathi Botha It has been a tradition all over the world that everyone provides good services for 67 minutes on 18 July every year to honor Tatu Nelson Mandela on the day of his birth. This year, things took a good turn for Nombulelo Secondary School in Joza on Mandela Day. The school was visited by Makana Municipality Mayor, Yandiswa Vara, and officials of the Department of Basic Education who spent 67 minutes with the school’s staff and learners. The school has four choirs, and visitors were treated to performances from the co-ed Nombulelo Choir and the school’s Male…
By Selenathi Botha Frantic efforts to repair potholes before the National Arts Festival started to pay off, with some of the roads outside City Hall, in Sunnyside, and near popular guesthouses in Oatlands all receiving long-awaited repairs. Makana Municipality announced this week that repairs to Scotts Avenue and Hemming, Huntly, Thompson, and High Street were complete. Longstanding potholes in next to the Cathedral were repaired just as the National Arts Festival began. Photo: Makana Municipality. Potholes in Sunnyside were fixed just as the National Arts Festival began. Photo: Makana Municipality. The potholes at City Hall being repaired earlier in June…
By Selenathi Botha Juliall Goba’s house burnt to ashes in Makhanda’s Sun City while he was inside, but luckily he survived. He owns the house with his partner, Arril Shavens and they lived with their five-year-old daughter and one-month-old baby son. But on that horrible day, Shavens and the children had visited their aunt, leaving Goba at home, never thinking that something terrible would happen. Goba was sleeping when he was awakened by smoke filling the house at around 3am. “I don’t know what caused the fire, because I had switched off everything connected to the electricity, and the fire…
By Selenathi Botha Well-known Makhanda poet, Akhona Mafani, has been nominated for best poet in the 2023 Mzansi Arts and Media Awards (#Mama23). There were 21 nominees for the awards but Mafani is now in the top five. Known as Bhodl’ingqaka, Mafani was born in Makhanda on 15 May, 1996. Growing up surrounded by Hip-Hop music in Vukani Location and surrounded by Nqantsonqa, Njilo and Dezz and Shizomanizo productions, Mafani was inspired at the age of 14 to take out a notepad and pen and start to express himself. Akhona Mafani, one of Makhanda’s well known poets. Photo: Supplied. He…
By Selenathi Botha Not having basic needs for part of the time has become a norm for the people of Makhanda. Load shedding and the water crisis have been happening for a while now. At first, load shedding used to come and go, just for a short period of time, but now it takes hours for the electricity to come back. Water sometimes returns only after a few days of being absent. Everyone is affected by this, but the township economy takes a huge loss, Grocott’s Mail has found. One such affected business is Shoba Funeral Services. It has been…