Author: Staff Reporter

By Anima McBrown As Rhodes University Rugby Club bids coach Qondakele Sompondo a hearty farewell, they welcome Coach Qondani ‘Carlos’ Katywa to their rugby stable. The 31-year-old Port Elizabeth-born Katywa has coached at the University of Fort Hare (UFH), and has extensive experience both as a player and a manager. He recently completed his Honours in B. Applied (Communication and Management) at UFH. Katywa is no stranger to the Grahamstown community. He went to school at Graeme College. He thinks fondly of his competitive rugby days, remembering how he idolised Rhodes rugby back then. It has always been a dream…

There should be great bowls played this weekend as 22 teams of male bowlers will be on the greens at the Kowie Bowling Club in Port Alfred, in the annual inter sub-districts bowling tournament. Over 100 bowlers and officials representing seven districts from all over Eastern Cape, including bowlers from as far afield as Colesburg. Teams from East London and District, Port Elizabeth and District, Ciskei, North Eastern Districts, Frontier, Midlands and our own Eastern Areas, will all be taking part in the tournament that will run from midday today (Friday 22 September) until Monday 25 August. “This is a…

The Eastern Cape, like so many places in South Africa, has felt the pain and brutal tragedy of rhino poaching.  Since the first rhino was killed in 2009, rhino custodians have been searching for new and improved methods to add to the existing efforts so that we can challenge the current threat and protect this iconic species. A number of tracker dogs have been deployed across the province over the years, proving their worth time and time again. However, one of the frustrations has been the inability to track poachers from these crime scenes if they were not discovered imminently.…

St Andrew’s College hosted Pearson High School and Grey High School for the annual pre-season water polo fixtures on Saturday (16 September). The day started with some heavy rain but that did not deter the polo players as the St Andrew’s teams headed into their 1st round fixtures against Pearson. The results were as follows: U14As drew 3-3 U15As – St Andrew’s won 7-6 The St Andrew’s 1st team match against Pearson started slowly with both teams trading attacks but none able to yield any goals. Into the 2nd, 3rd and 4th chukkas, St Andrew’s started to press forward and…

The Kingswood College Junior School celebrated and showed support for the Sunflower Fund National Bandana Day! Here the Kingswood College Grade 1 class pose for a photograph to show off their bandanas! 

One spring morning, the Kingswood College Foundation Phase pupils and staff set off to the Botanical Gardens to enjoy a morning of fresh air and fun with friends. The pupils enjoyed looking for treasures on the land and in the pools, some of which they used to make a creative card. They also formed groups, blew bubbles and had a great time together! We are so lucky to have spaces and places like the Botanical Gardens, which we can visit here in Grahamstown! We hope that we sparked an appreciation of the beauty that surrounds us both in Grahamstown and our…

Over 798 000 learners have enrolled to write this year’s matric exams, which start on 16 October, according to Priscilla Ogunbanjo, the Director for Examination and Assessment. Ogunbanjo said this when the department briefed the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education in the National Assembly last Tuesday. “Looking at the enrolments for 2017, we can see we have 636 814 full-time candidates that have enrolled to write this examination and 161 475 part-time candidates, giving us a total of 798 289 for this year,” she said. On exam irregularities, Ogunbanjo said following the leaking of the Mathematics paper in Giyani last…

Chinese Ambassador to South Africa, Songtian Lin, says the Coega Special Economic Zone is a good case study for the continent and the world on how to develop and operate a SEZ. “The Coega SEZ is by far the most successful SEZ on the African continent. It is a good case study for Africa and the world on how to develop and operate a Special Economic Zone,” said the Ambassador when he visited the SEZ near Port Elizabeth. Lin was very impressed with the Coega Development Corporation (CDC), which has so far attracted 40 investors. He encouraged the Coega SEZ to take advantage of increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)…