Author: Staff Reporter

BRICS Communications and ICT Ministers have agreed to help promote the cooperation of Small, Micro, Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) from BRICS member countries. “Key to unleashing their potential is for governments to support and invest in the innovation and development of ICT SMMEs and the broader ICT industry,” said a communique issued at the end of the BRICS meeting for Communications and ICT Ministers. The Ministers have urged SMMEs to continue to innovate and find solutions that will advance universal telecommunications access. The member states identified SMMEs as potential engines for growth and job creation. The meeting, held this week in…

Equipping children with digital literacy and digital skills is an act of great patriotism, says Deputy Minister for Communications Pinky Kekana. “For if we prepare our kids today with the skills required tomorrow, we are sure to pay it forward,” Kekana said. Addressing the South African Web Rangers Award Ceremony in Johannesburg on Saturday, she said government alone cannot move society forward as it needs the private sector, civil society and citizens to lend a hand. Web Rangers is an initiative designed to allow young people to drive safer internet behaviours within their communities through the creation of innovative campaigns that promote…

A Grahamstown (Makhanda) woman who woke up in the early hours of Tuesday 11 September to feed her young baby found him dead. “At 3.20am the mother of the deceased woke up to feed him,” police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said. “She had been sleeping in the same single bed as the baby. She noticed that the baby was not waking up and that there was milk coming out of the baby’s nostrils. The ambulance was called and they certified the baby dead.” The baby had no history of illness, Govender said. She also said the mother had been inebriated when…

The British High Commission has advised British citizens to report and pay their tax on foreign income and assets. In a media release, the Commission said as part of the British Government’s “Requirement to Correct” legislation UK taxpayers must make sure that all their foreign income and assets, where there might be tax to pay, have been declared to HMRC before 30 September 2018. “From 1 October 2018, new, substantially higher penalties will apply for those who have failed to pay all the tax due on foreign income and assets,” the Commission warned. “The vast majority of people and businesses pay the…

Why not take a trip to Riebeeck East on Saturday 29 September and have a look at the village’s historic church while you’re there? NG dominee Strauss de Jager talks about some of the things you could see on the trip. It is never easy to maintain these old buildings, but the people of Riebeeck East are taking amazing initiatives to do what they can. Some money was earmarked some time ago for work on  the beautiful old church which was built in 1862. A year or two ago the roof was painted, and last year new gutters were installed…

Free entry to most of the 21 South African National Parks kicked off on Monday 10 September, ending Friday 14 September. The campaign is again being run under the established theme, ‘Know your national parks’. Together with partners Total South Africa and FNB, SANParks makes this opportunity available to all South African citizens during Tourism month. The free access is meant to cultivate a sense of pride in local residents in South Africa’s natural, cultural and historical heritage. They can do this by experiencing and enjoying all that the parks have to offer. It should be noted that the free…

Its an old saying that spring rains do a great deal more than just water the earth. And this was certainly the case in drought stricken, water stressed South Africa, which was in need of a big deluge of good news. However, everything has consequences, and one of these was that extreme weather conditions forced the postponement of the highly popular St Cyprians Highlands Country Fair.  This was due to have been held last Sunday but has now been rescheduled for the coming Sunday 16 October. The main beneficiary of funds raised at the Country Fair is the Holy Cross…

The wildlife may have been slow and retiring in Sunday’s cold and damp, but the Grahamstown (Makhanda) school children who braved intermittent rain and a 7C early morning on Sunday 9 September made the Makana Botanical Gardens come alive at the WESSA/Grocott’s Mail Bio-Bash and Photo Walk. The event was to encourage school children to look closely at their natural environment, get to know it better, and have a shot at entering the WESSA #CelebrateNaturalHeritage photographic competition. Despite the cold and intermittent rain, 35 children from six Grahamstown schools – most of them in grades 6, 7 and 8 –…

Ward 6 Councillor Thembisa Gaushe handed over school uniforms to a number of DD Siwisa pupils after she had observed that they attended school in worn-out uniforms. These included shoes, tunics, shirts trousers and socks. A short programme was organised by Gaushe and the school. Gaushe who was accompanied by ward committee member Nomathokazi Mazamisa told the gathering that the school was close to her heart as part of her ward and she felt obliged to assist. The money to buy the uniforms came out of Gaushe’s own pocket. She said various councillors had chipped in to assist her to…

By Aleska Winetzki and Alice Draper Gadra’ game-changing Whistle Stop School (WSS) has opened a second site at Tantyi Primary School. The school, launched in 2017 by Gadra Education in partnership with St Mary’s Development and Care Centre (DCC) and St Mary’s Primary School, targets literacy development for learners in Grade R, Grade 2 and Grade 4. In 2017, the program targeted Grade 3 and Grade 6 learners who had a two-year and four-year literacy deficit respectively. For the Grade 3 learners, average reading ability caught up to the expected standard by the end of the year. Based on the…