Last Friday will forever be etched in the minds of Makhanda learners Yolisa Makina, Abongile Sikutshwa, Wanda Fusa, Sesethu Mtshelu and Bongani Mtsweni: it was the first time any of them had flown in an airplane. Yolisa, Abongile, Wanda and Sesethu are in Grade 12 at Ntsika Secondary School. They participated in the JSE Investment Challenge and won the monthly prize for May as the top team in the country for the Income Game. Bongani Mtsweni, a second-year BCom Chartered Accountancy student at Rhodes University, was their mentor. While the team were not overall prizewinners, the JSE invited them and their mentor as special guests because of their May…
Author: Staff Reporter
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The annual Remembrance Day Parade will be held in Church Square at 10.30am on Sunday 10 November 2019. This Parade is held to pay tribute to, and remember all those who served their country so bravely and paid the supreme sacrifice, particularly during World Wars I and II. The Kingswood College and St Andrew’s College bands will be on parade which also includes a wreath laying ceremony by local dignitaries and school representatives, to honour those who gave their lives in the cause of freedom. Members of the public are welcome to attend this moving event. The MOTHs (veterans organisation,…
Roads in Port Alfred and Amsterdamhoek on the Swartkops River near Port Elizabeth were flooded earlier today, as an unusual weather phenonemon struck coastal areas. Garth Sampson, Client Liaison Officer for the South African Weather Service (Eastern Cape Region) said coastal surges were relatively rare and happened when certain weather conditions occurred at more or less the same time. “One must have a spring high tide, high seas and strong westerly winds,” Sampson explained. Sampson, who is based in Port Elizabeth, said it was the first time, other than during floods, that he had seen the roads in Amsterdamhoek flooded. Had the winds turned onshore,…
By GEMMA RITCHIE Local game reserve Amakhala and its non-profit conservation organisation the Amakhala Foundation celebrated 20 and 10 years respectively. A spellbinding talk by professional storyteller Rob Caski on Shackleton’s Incredible Journey marked the anniversaries. Caski had the audience hanging onto his every word as he spoke about polar explorer Ernest Shackleton who with 28 men planned to trek across the Antarctic. Before they were able to begin the journey, trouble befell them. Their ship was trapped in the ice of the Weddell sea forcing the men to abandon it and seek shelter on the remote beach of Elephant…
By CHRIS TOTOBELA Junior football took centre stage last Sunday with their much anticipated top-of-the-table clash. Reigning champions Sophia Stars locked horns with the sleeping giant City Pirates. Pirates were the powerhouse of junior football before a sudden decline in their form lost them their dominance. Sophia Stars, on the other hand, have stormed on to the scene spitting fire, beating everyone and winning every trophy on offer. Football fans came in droves to witness this local derby that had all the ingredients of good football. First up was the U13 encounter that got the crowd on their feet as…
On Sunday 13 October, Rhodes University Archery Club hosted a fun filled day for the children of the Grahamstown Child Welfare cluster foster homes. The children were taught the basics of archery and had a fantastic time practicing their new skills. Great fun was had by all as they competed with one another to see who could shoot the most balloons. A few staff members from Grahamstown Child Welfare also embraced the challenge, trying their hand at the sport. After a great deal of animated practice, the children were treated to some cupcakes, cold drinks and goodie bags before heading…
Vulture populations are faced with overwhelming anthropogenic threats and populations are declining at alarming rates. Fewer than 4 200 Cape Vulture breeding pairs remain: colonies in Namibia, Zimbabwe and Swaziland have already gone extinct. African White-backed Vultures have declined by more than 96% over the last few decades. Despite this, the next generation of vultures has arrived, and vulture chicks are spreading their wings to leave the nest. Unfortunately, the first few weeks of flight are also when fledglings are at their most vulnerable. They can easily exceed their limits and become stranded. Unable to return to their nest, they…
The executive council of the Eastern Cape has resolved to have drought in this province declared a disaster and processes to gazette it are under way. Meanwhile, following a R1 million pledge by Vodacom towards drilling boreholes, Premier Oscar Mabuyane has appealed to the private sector to contribute towards drought mitigation. The National Disaster Management Centre reclassified the drought as a national disaster last year. This was gazetted on 13 February 2018. A statement from the Department of Co-operative Governance at the time said this followed consultations with provincial disaster management centres and a thorough reassessment of the magnitude and…
Six officials from various SASSA offices in the Eastern Cape have been identified as internal contacts for a syndicate that has been fraudulently diverting social grants. This follows the recent arrests of five people in Butterworth, who were caught presenting a list of beneficiaries to a South African Social Security Agency official, the Agency said in a statement. The arrests were carried out as part of a joint operation by SASSA’s Eastern Cape Region, working with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) and the Butterworth Police. The arrest of the five people from Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal was a major…
In a rare demonstration of loyalty and altruism, a young couple, James Rycroft and Toni Parsons, urged friends and well-wishers at their wedding to donate all the money they intended to use to buy them gifts towards settling outstanding Rhodes University student fees. James and Toni exchanged wedding vows earlier this month at the coastal town of Southbroom outside Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal. Both are ‘Old Rhodians’, as ex-Rhodes students are affectionately known. The decision by the couple was inspired by another Old Rhodian and mutual friend, Natasha Joseph. She has been running an annual call for contributions to clear…