Author: Staff Reporter

The semis and the  finals of the 2017 New Year’s Cup were action packed affairs, with thrills, spills and tears. There to capture the action were Kathryn Cleary and Sue Maclennan.   READ THE FINAL MATCH REPORT BY CHRIS TOTOBELA HERE: http://www.grocotts.co.za/2018/01/01/thrills-as-home-side-takes-new-years-cup/

Two retired people in their 70s were robbed at their home on a smallholding outside Grahamstown today Wednesday 3 January 2017. One of them was severely beaten and was taken to hospital. Two suspects were arrested and police have asked for anyone with information that could help them in their investigations to come forward. A team of seasoned police investigators has this afternoon and tonight spent several hours at the scene. The robbery was in progress when Hi-Tec Security responded to a panic alarm soon after 5pm today, according to police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender. When the Hi-Tec armed response…

With eight subject distinctions, six of them over 90%, DSG matriculant Alice Godlonton emerged as Grahamstown’s top achiever as the Independent Examination Board (IEB) released their 2017 Matric results yesterday. A total of 11 464 candidates wrote the IEB National Senior Certificate this year and the national pass rate was 98.76%. The results were embargoed to today. At the Diocesan School for Girls, three girls were listed on the IEB commendable list for being placed in the top 5% of all Matric IEB candidates in five subjects, while at Kingswood College, the top seven Matriculants garnered 32 distinctions between them…

The family of a Grahamstown child who drowned on New Year’s Day have asked for privacy while they come to terms with their loss. The eight-year-old boy, who was in the company of relatives, was taken to Settlers Hospital after he got into difficulty in a swimming pool at a private facility outside Grahamstown on Monday 1 January. Tragically, attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. Police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said an inquest docket had been opened for a routine investigation. A nine-year-old girl from Tuku drowned at Birha Resort yesterday afternoon. “The child was swimming in the sea when she…

Four men in their 20s were arrested in what Port Alfred police have hailed as a breakthrough following a spate of housebreaking at Kenton-on-Sea, and following the first drunk driving arrest of the year, a senior police officer has urged the public to ensure they only travel with a driver who is sober. Police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said that following several incidents of house break-ins in the Riversbend area at Kenton on Sea, local detectives, members of the Port Alfred K9, together with security officers from a local security company and community members had made a significant breakthrough yesterday…

Thanks to a boost in the Rand-Dollar exchange rate, the price of petrol will drop by around 30c a litre and diesel around 25c a litre in January 2018. In a media statement issued yesterday, the Department of Energy said the main reasons for the fuel price adjustments were: The contribution of the Rand/US Dollar exchange rate. The Rand appreciated against the US Dollar from R14.10 to R13.27, on average, during the period under review when compared to the previous one. This led to a lower contribution to the Basic Fuels Price on petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 42.03c/l, 42.75c/l and…

High schools officially closed on 6 December, which means that young men in the Eastern Cape are heading in droves to initiation schools to follow one of their cultures’ most important rites of passage, circumcision, and officials are once again warning parents to ensure their young man are properly cared for in reputable schools. December to January is the season for traditional circumcision in South Africa and the practice has become  controversial as thousands of young men die for a variety of reasons ranging from dehydration to severe infection. Countless others are admitted to hospitals and some have to undergo penile amputation…

The 10th International Researching Work and Learning (RWL) Conference took place at Rhodes University last week, convened by the Environmental Learning Research Centre and attended by Vice-Chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela. The  conference, Transformation and Transitions in work and learning, was a collaboration with the Wits University Centre for Researching Education and Labour (REAL) and the South African Qualifications Authority. The second RWL conference to be held in South Africa this year had 220 registered delegates from 18 countries. “This event always boasts a strong conference programme and is a leader in the field of work and learning,” said Mabizela, who was attending…

Science professor Tebello Nyokong  this week became the first recipient of the Black Science, Technology & Engineering Professionals (BSTEP) Excellence Award. She was identified as a legend and honoured in the first ever Black Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) awards at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria. Nyokong holds a Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation (DST/NRF) professorship in Medicinal chemistry and Nanotechnology at Rhodes University. She was unavailable to accept the award herself, but asked two of her former PhD students, Dr Nolwazi Nombona and Dr Vongani Chauke, to receive it on her behalf. “[Prof. Nyokong] epitomises excellence,…

Late payments: The knock-on effects on SA small businesses 52% of South African small businesses experience direct negative impacts from late payments Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA, 8 December 2017 – An economic report published by Sage, the global market leader for technology, reveals the detrimental impacts of late payments on Small & Medium Businesses, currently equating to R25 billion ($3 trillion) globally.  With 15% of invoices in South Africa paid late, the study reports that more than 8% of payments due to the country’s Small & Medium Businesses are never made or made so late that businesses are forced to write them off…